KO stage of 2025-26 UEFA Champions Legue starts with the play-offs. Referee assignemnts for the first legs, first set of games, to be played on 17 February 2026.
18:45 CET - Istanbul (Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi - RAMS Park)
GALATASARAY (TUR) - JUVENTUS (ITA)
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout NED
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Howard Webb ENG
UEFA Delegate: Arturs Gaidels LVA
21:00 CET - Monaco (Stade Louis II)
AS MONACO (FRA) - PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (FRA)
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Fourth Official: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Frédéric Veraghaenne BEL
21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica)
SL BENFICA (POR) - REAL MADRID CF (ESP)
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni NED
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard FRA
Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gillett ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Nicola Rizzoli ITA
UEFA Delegate: David Findlay SCO
21:00 CET - Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER) - ATALANTA BC (ITA)
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük NED
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Inia NED
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig NED
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot NED
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bram van Driessche BEL
UEFA Referee Observer: William Young SCO
UEFA Delegate: Karl Espen Eriksen NOR
Makkelie for another Gala game in CL. after a short time. hmm
ReplyDeleteIt's a big assignment for Makkelie.
DeleteItalian team involved in a very challenging atmosphere in Istanbul.
About the fact that he had handled the club from TUR earlier, well, we see even same referees with same teams two matchdays in a row, now there was the winter break in the middle, so... this assignment is not closer to previous one.
I'm sure he is aware the kind of game he is about to officiate, potentially a very challenging one. Must be very ready and alert.
Strong appointments.
ReplyDeleteIt’s great to see that Makkelie continues to enjoy the full trust of the committee. His five matches in the UCL so far have gone smoothly, so this is a logical appointment.
Together with Gözübüyük once again on an Italian team. Letexier can also expect a heated evening at Benfica, especially after the last encounter between the sides.
Gozubuyuk for Atalanta in Dortmund is another good choice for the other Dutch, in my opinion this one will be by far more football-focused than Istanbul's clash.
ReplyDeleteLetexier for Benfica - Real Madrid is maybe a choice made by committee even after having observed what happened on MD8.
No fear by Rosetti about potentially spoiling the French with this choice.
And then Gil Manzano in Monaco, a referee that quite often got PSG. Maybe more than Sanchez Martinez, who, differently from him, will go at WC.
Years ago, Makkelie was the best referee in Europe alongside Kuipers and Orsato, and Rosetti often relied on him for the most difficult matches. Starting with the Champions League final which was given to Turpin instead of him, despite the Dutchman's more impressive CV, Makkelie began to lose his way a little, and many referees less talented than him have refereed big matches in his place. Makkelie has also often been treated badly: in the last European Championship, for example, after an excellent performance in Italy-Croatia, he was sent home for no reason. I hope he can definitively return to being the great referee we saw a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteFully agree. It’s great to see that this season he’s performing at a high level again and clearly back to his old standards. He seems to have fully regained his confidence. The trust from the committee clearly does him good and appears to bring out the best in him.
DeleteAlso, when you look at the observers assigned to him; Hansson, Dallas and Webb, those are serious names. Appointments like that often indicate that UEFA is keeping a very close eye on a referee for the latter stages of the competition.
Comparing Makkelie with Kuipers and Orsato is joke of the weekend. Congratulations!
DeleteSurprisingly good appointment for Gozubuyuk.
ReplyDeleteAlso, unexpected appearance of Manzano.
Expected for Letexier, and good sign of trust for Makkelie.
I like this overall