Monday, 27 January 2025

Champions League 2024/25 - Referee Appointments - Matchday 8

The last Matchday of Champions League's league stage, all games to be played on Wednesday 29 January 2025.



Wednesday 29 January 2025

21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio José de Alvalade)
SPORTING CP (POR) - BOLOGNA FC 1909 (ITA)
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Thomas Leonard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Benoît Millot FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Andrew Dallas SCO
UEFA Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili GEO
UEFA Delegate: Vignir Már Þormóðsson ISL

21:00 CET - Eindhoven (PSV Stadion) 
PSV (NED) - LIVERPOOL FC (ENG)
Referee: Tobias Stieler GER 
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Gittelmann GER
Assistant Referee 2:  Mark Borsch GER 
Fourth Official: Florian Badstübner GER
Video Assistant Referee: Sören Storks GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Sascha Stegemann GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere BEL 
UEFA Delegate: Balázs Makray HUN

21:00 CET - Berne (Wankdorf Stadion) 
BSC YOUNG BOYS (SUI) - FK CRVENA ZVEZDA (SRB)
Referee: Halil Umut Meler TUR 
Assistant Referee 1: Kerem Ersoy TUR 
Assistant Referee 2: Ibrahim Çaglar Uyarcan TUR
Fourth Official: Arda Kardeşler TUR
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni ITA 
UEFA Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský SVK
UEFA Delegate: Neil Morrow NIR

21:00 CET - Stuttgart (Arena Stuttgart) 
VFB STUTTGART (GER) - PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA)
Referee: Davide Massa ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Stefano Alassio ITA 
Fourth Official: Michael Fabbri ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Luca Pairetto ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Haim Jakov ISR
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon BEL

21:00 CET - Klagenfurt (Wörthersee Stadion)
SK STURM GRAZ (AUT) - RB LEIPZIG (GER) 
Referee: Mykola Balakin UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Berkut UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash UKR
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov UKR
Video Assistant Referee: Fedayi San SUI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Lukas Fähndrich SUI
UEFA Referee Observer: Jon Skjervold NOR
UEFA Delegate: Cristel Brorsson SWE

21:00 CET - Manchester (City of Manchester Stadium) 
MANCHESTER CITY FC (ENG) - CLUB BRUGGE (BEL)
Referee: José María Sánchez ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Iñigo Prieto ESP
Fourth Official:  César Soto Grado ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Alejandro Hernández ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP 
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE
UEFA Delegate: Joseph O'Brien IRL

21:00 CET - Munich (Fußball Arena München)
FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN (GER) - ŠK SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (SVK)
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: João Gonçalves POR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas SCO 
UEFA Delegate: Adonis Procopiou CYP

21:00 CET - Milan (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza) 
FC INTERNAZIONALE (ITA) - AS MONACO (FRA)
Referee: Irfan Peljto BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Senad Ibrišimbegović BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Davor Beljo BIH
Fourth Official: Miloš Gigovic BIH
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Piotr Lasyk POL
UEFA Referee Observer: Thomas Einwaller AUT
UEFA Delegate: Florian Prunea ROU

21:00 CET - Dortmund (BVB Stadion)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER) - SHAKHTAR DONETSK (UKR)
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Alan Kijas AUT
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
UEFA Delegate: David Moran IRL

21:00 CET - Barcelona (Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys)
BARCELONA FC (ESP) - ATALANTA BC (ITA) 
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gillett ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Darren England ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Darko Čeferin SVN
UEFA Delegate: Thibault De Gendt BEL

21:00 CET - Leverkusen (BayArena) 
BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN (GER) - AC SPARTA PRAHA (CZE) 
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Venev BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Video Assistant Referee: Dragomir Draganov BUL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefano Podeschi SMR 
UEFA Delegate: Fródi Danielsen FRO

21:00 CET - Turin (Juventus Stadium) 
JUVENTUS (ITA) - SL BENFICA (POR)
Referee: Istvan Kovacs ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Mihai Marica ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Ferencz Tunyogi ROU
Fourth Official: Horațiu Feșnic ROU
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Angelos Evangelou GRE
UEFA Referee Observer: Mike Riley ENG
UEFA Delegate: Bart Van Soest NED

21:00 CET - Zagreb (Stadion Maksimir) 
GNK DINAMO (CRO) - AC MILAN (ITA)
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez ESP
UEFA Delegate: Sviatlana Hrynkevich BLR

21:00 CET - Salzburg (Stadion Salzburg)
FC SALZBURG (AUT) - CLUB ATLÉTICO DE MADRID (ESP) 
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG 
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Peter Bankes ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Karen Nalbandyan ARM
UEFA Delegate: Johny Vanspauwen BEL

21:00 CET - Villeneuve d'Ascq (Stade Pierre Mauroy)
LOSC LILLE (FRA) - FEYENOORD (NED)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: Martin Matoša SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Alen Borošak SVN
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Dragoslav Perič SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Itchko Lozev BUL
UEFA Delegate: Gerard Lawlor NIR

21:00 CET - Birmingham (Villa Park)
ASTON VILLA FC (ENG) - CELTIC FC (SCO) 
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pages FRA
Fourth Official: Romain Lissorgue FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Rob Dieperink NED 
UEFA Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX
UEFA Delegate: Adrian D. Casha MLT

21:00 CET - Grona (Estadi Montilivi)
GIRONA FC (ESP) - ARSENAL FC (ENG) 
Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni ITA 
Fourth Official: Daniele Doveri ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valerio Marini ITA 
UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimir Petrov UKR 
UEFA Delegate: Vilmos Szabó HUN

21:00 CET - Guingamp (Stade de Roudourou)
STADE BRESTOIS 29 (FRA) - REAL MADRID CF (ESP) 
Referee: Espen Eskås NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Hagenes NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pascal Müller GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Emil Bozinovski MKD
UEFA Delegate: Maria Mifsud MLT
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28 comments:

  1. Chefren27 January 2025 at 09:56

    As always, a big name for committee for an Italian team: Kovacs in Turin. It's interesting to observe that after the rather poor game in Munich, he could have ende his league stage for this season, but committee had different ideas. He got even two games more. This means two things: he has the full trust, but one can also say they don't have so many options, as it seems...
    About Nyberg in Dortmund, it's also an opportunity for the Swedish to get more games in CL after a rather below expectations period.
    Both these games appointed later than others. Let's see now the rest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ref0027 January 2025 at 10:46

      Tbf the game in Turin is a rather irrelevant one…

      According to Opta, both teams have an almost guaranteed spot in the play-off. Juventus has <1% chance to finish top-8.

      And to add, a higher placed ranking doesn’t mean a better draw or weaker opponent in the play-off.

      Delete
    2. anty7527 January 2025 at 10:51

      Benfica could easily miss out on the play-offs if they lose this match. For Juve I agree the match isn't so important

      Delete
    3. Ref0027 January 2025 at 11:07

      @ Anty: in theory, Man City, one of PSG/Stuttgart, Sporting and Dinamo Zagreb can pass Benfica if they lose. However, my guess is, there will be a Gentleman’s agreement (sharing the points) in Turin. Juventus doesn’t have to win this, they can safe their energy. 11 points is enough for Benfica to guarantee a spot in the play-offs.

      Delete
  2. f27 January 2025 at 10:09

    A bit dissapointing to see Meler gets a game where neither team has anything to play for, maybe his domestic form has been poor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ugur B27 January 2025 at 10:22

      In Turkey, there is a chaotic atmosphere and lot of pressure on referees. Therefore all referees are underperformed. UEFA referee committee is aware of situation and that's why they don't appoint Meler to a high profile game. It would be a surprise to see Meler referring any game beyond Top 16 at CL. He will mostly have games at Europa or Conference League.

      Delete
    2. Chefren27 January 2025 at 10:28

      The reason is the one reported by Ugur. It's about the situation in Turkey, indeed. Full change of consideration about Meler by committee, but due to the chaos of the Turkish federation and not him. Very unpleasant, and we can draw conclusion he will no get anything good as long as this will last... a pity for him, he had shown quite good performances in past. But you can see how much difficult is when there are external circumstances.

      Delete
  3. Elliot27 January 2025 at 10:23

    Elite referees in all but two games is a little bit surprising imo, but is also most likely a consequence of most appointments already having been made before last week. Committee couldn't really know for certain which games would be important and which wouldn't and therefore decided not to take any risks

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oliver27 January 2025 at 10:25

    I’m sure that’ll be an experience for Sam Barrott on the sidelines with Simeone!! Surprised to see Massa get one of the key games too after his car crash last week

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elliot27 January 2025 at 10:29

      He's Italian, no previous problems with PSG... all that seems to matter to Rosetti & Co

      Delete
    2. Chefren27 January 2025 at 10:39

      Yes, given the last performance, this assignment was indeed rather "finding a suitable name for PSG" than "making a technical choice based on previous assessments".

      Delete
  5. hadad27 January 2025 at 10:37

    good

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chefren27 January 2025 at 10:38

    Almost all Elite referees, unless Balakin and Kabakov.
    Both can be rather content with the league stage they had, for the Bulgarian a comeback at a good level, while there was a certain development by the Ukrainian, but I think we should rule out one or two games in which he wasn't that good like the other performances.
    Very often the last matchdays are more used for debuts but as we can see it was not possible for this set due to the very close dates, with only a week in the middle. For domestic assignments, that's a rather long time, but it is short for international ones.
    Most surprising assignment is indeed Massa in Stuttgart after a rather not good perfortmance in Madrid, with the OFR and the missed second YC, but it seems as now he has the trust and the focus by committee. Today we could say he is ahead of Guida, but the latter is injured and we must wait for all he rest.
    No debut for Sozza: time will come but surely a disappointment, his step was expected before the start of league stages and there were all the clues. Not good times overall for Italian refereeing after Orsato retirement, but this wasn't hard to predict. Sozza finally with a good game yesterday in Udinese - Roma, though.
    Taylor with a Spanish team, Atlético, is another extremely important signal. Committee could do that because the known mistake was in favor of Spain, but it will be hard to see him with German teams. Nevertheless, I didn't expect him with Spanish clubs and that's surprising as for now. Against Salzburg, should be one of the easiest possible games.
    Rather a disappointing appointment for Pinheiro in Munich. The German side must win, OK, but this was a game for a debut, in this particular case I think committee was afraid of making a less experienced assignment, but to me the Portuguese is exaggerated.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jake27 January 2025 at 10:51

    Just discovered your blog and wanted to pop a comment to say what a fantastic resource you have created and many thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chefren27 January 2025 at 10:53

    Missing Elite referees (not appointed so far in 2025 games), expected in Europa League tomorrow:

    Gil Manzano ESP
    Sidiropoulos GRE
    Grinfeeld ISR
    Kruzliak SVK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MH_svk27 January 2025 at 17:45

      According Slovak FA referees committee official weekly report Kruzliak is unavailable for domestic competition, probably injured/ill

      Delete
  9. Ref0027 January 2025 at 10:59

    Some strange choices.
    Tobias Stieler with an important observer, while the game doesn't really matter.

    Sánchez in a crucial game for City. I would have made a different and more established choice.

    Pinheiro with former Refcom member Dallas in a meaningless game. Call it strange.

    Nyberg with a relevant (Italian) Observer, back in focus.

    Oliver has a more important observer than Taylor (has he finally surpassed Taylor in Europe?)

    Letexier, a good and deserved appointment in Croatia.

    Vincic gets big game after big game in the earlier stages (MD1-MD6) and then MD7-MD8 all of a sudden is kept away from the spotlight in lower profile stuff. Protected by the Slovenian powers inside UEFA?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren27 January 2025 at 12:55

      Strange observers in some cases, I agree.
      But maybe this time without knowing before, it wasn't easy for committee to make it like the other matchdays.
      About Sanchez Martinez, just remember it's City - Crugge, very big team at home. They can be in crisis, but still, they are at home against a medium club not coming from top leagues, so here you have the choice of the Spanish. Committee still expects a win by English side. It's more interesting to discuss about Gil Manzano current situation...

      Delete
    2. Lincoln27 January 2025 at 17:06

      There is no doubt that the committee's preference for a PL referee is Oliver. Barça v Atalanta will be a highly technical match, given the way the teams play, and Oliver will need to let the game flow and flow well.
      As for Taylor being appointed for Salzburg v ATM, that doesn't mean anything to me. He already angered a grumpy Mourinho over the controversy surrounding the UEL final in Budapest, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does the same to a highly-rated manager like Simeone.

      Delete
  10. Hans27 January 2025 at 11:36

    Is Stieler possibly a candidate for the Club World Cup in 2025 or even for the World Cup in 2026

    ReplyDelete
  11. referee observer27 January 2025 at 11:54

    Vincic was the referee for the Greek classico Olympiakos - Panathinaikos yesterday. He made 2 crucial mistakes which were corrected by VAR.

    Let's hope he is better on Wednesday.....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ferd27 January 2025 at 12:38

    Chefren,can I get a referee prediction for the Europa League Ajax-Galatasaray from you?I saw people saying Kruashvili(GEO) on the block.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren27 January 2025 at 13:03

      Very crucial game for Galatasaray, here I think you could also expect an Elite referee. Gil Manzano, missing in Champions League, is possible for this game.
      Also possible to see an Elite referee that officiated last week in Champions League: there are some options like Siebert and Schaerer but maybe the Swiss is not possible with Turkish team after the famous incident.
      If not an Elite, I think a very trusted Category 1 and here there are other possible choices such as: Rumsas, Petrescu...

      Delete
  13. Lincoln27 January 2025 at 13:50

    Wow. I think the Bosnian referees' chairman should erect a statue to Peljto in Sarajevo lol. The guy got five nominations in this early phase of the Champions League, maybe even more than Letexier. Do UEFA have plans for him in a possible continental final this season? I don't know. But this growth of the Bosnian shows the committee's confidence in a referee who may not have much experience in games even sanctioned by FIFA. Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. mcvans51127 January 2025 at 15:41

    Oliver is a top referee but he has made a decision which was obviously wrong and is now become a big controversy in England. His VAR Darren England takes very little time to clear it and lets Oliver down in this case IMO. Initial point of contact is side of the foot; studs graze the ankle yes but the force and contact is not at the threshold for serious foul play. When talking of supportable decisions, one in which no one would have batted an eye had it been a correct yellow for reckless cannot be supported; especially when an arguably worse challenge by Gomes in the second half is given as a yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Euro Soccer Ref27 January 2025 at 18:59

    I didn't see anybody sharing this info but Turkish Football Federation decided to appoint only foreign VARs starting from 17 January. It's interesting that only 'main' VARs are employed, imo. Were there any big mistakes by Turkish VARs last matchdays that would legitimize such a move? I also wonder whether UEFA will use this as a test field for not so experienced FIFA-listed video match officials or it's only TFF's invitation to some chosen federations.

    Matchday 20
    Jan Boterberg, Sandi Putros, Adrián Cordero Vega, Tamás Bognár, Hélder Malheiro

    Matchday 21
    Paweł Raczkowski, Victor García Verdura, David Rafael Oliveira da Silva, Christian-Petru Ciochirca, István Vad

    ReplyDelete
  16. juan28 January 2025 at 02:34

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/33035161/david-coote-cocaine-sexuality-referee/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chefren28 January 2025 at 04:21

      Video that makes you reflect on the human tragedy he experienced: it's very sad in this regard, getting out of it is extremely important.

      Delete

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