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!
Delete"in the last European Championship, for example, after an excellent performance in Italy-Croatia, he was sent home for no reason."
DeleteNot agreeing.
Missed very clear penalty that then needed VAR intervention, had mixed criterium that only saw punishments and cards fro Croatian players and had ridiculous 8 minutes of stoppage time.
So maybe he was not rightly sent home,but excellent performance?!?!??!yeah right.
Makkelie has had a superb career, often called upon for big games, so the comparison is perfectly reasonable. People have their opinions but it’s not ridiculous to compare. I also do think he’s been badly treated at times - happy to use him repeatedly for many tough assignments, but then drop him for errors. Easy to be a great referee if you’re mostly hidden from tough games … I personally thought he was great in the Croatia v Italy game - strong, didn’t fall for tricks, wouldn’t be pressured, exactly what we need from top referees. If he’s being lined up for final, it’s about time in my opinion.
Delete@CarlRDM: You can’t compare Makkelie and Kuipers. Their styles, management, and especially the backing they received from UEFA are worlds apart. Kuipers was carefully eased into finals, just like e.g. Vincic and Turpin. Makkelie, by contrast, was thrown into the toughest clashes after his UEL final, with all the consequences, likely because UEFA didn’t want a Dutch referee in a final so soon after Kuipers officiated the EURO final.
Delete@ M: You are Croatian, so maybe a bit biased. :) Makkelie was far from flawless at EURO 2024 and in the end rightfully sent home. But I doubt you can’t blame his disciplinary when he had full control in a heated clash between two emotional teams with a lot at stake. With Mateu Lahoz or Kovács in the middle, I honestly think it would have completely gotten out of hand.
Surprisingly good appointment for Gozubuyuk.
ReplyDeleteAlso, unexpected appearance of Manzano.
Expected for Letexier, and good sign of trust for Makkelie.
I like this overall
Very curious about Makkelie in Istanbul. There was a lot of discussion about Makkelie performance yesterday. Missed a blatant red card for Holtby (maybe someone can post a clip?) and played unfortunate major role in a relegation match. I keep repeating it for those who don't regularly watch the Eredivisie. Gözübüyük is having a much better season.
ReplyDeleteGözübüyük missed a clear RC for SFP last week, but the difference is that he was actually called for an OFR by his VAR (van Boekel). Yesterday, Makkelie wasn’t called to the screen by a young VAR. I think, it is a good thing that Makkelie primarily worked with independent foreign VARs in UEFA competitions.
DeleteRizzoli observing Letexier - the man has taste. The French is the leading candidate for a final, alongside Oliver, in my view. Letexier is not a borderline World Cup candidate, so I’m curious if there’s more behind Rizzoli’s observation.
ReplyDelete@Chefren: potential appointment for Ireland VS Italy (semi), perhaps? With Turpin locked-in for a final.
I expected a Spaniard with PSG, but not this one. Gil Manzano seems to be rebuilding momentum in UEFA competitions. Curious if Sánchez will appear too.
Makkelie: past his peak in my view, though still a joy to watch on his best days. In 2020/21 he was Europe’s best imo. After that he dipped; at times it even felt like he was wary of getting injured and therefore tried to limit his running. Makkelie needs trust by UEFA and a reliable VAR.
Good appointment for Gözübüyük. Indeed, he is performing well domestically, grown with Zeinstra in his team; question is whether he maintains that level with a new AR and beyond national borders. His no-nonsense style fits the Eredivisie: consistency and clarity over “man- management”. A yellow is a yellow, even early on. In the Netherlands it is not considered credible to wave play-on in the first half, only to produce a softer yellow in the 80th minute under the banner of temperature management. Internationally, though, Makkelie still has the edge, especially in more challenging games.