The referees in charge of 2025/26 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ties, first legs, first set of games, 10 March 2026.
18:45 CET - Istanbul (Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi - Rams Park)
GALATASARAY (TUR) - LIVERPOOL FC (ENG)
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano ESPAssistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Gudalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Fourth Official: Juan Martínez Munuera ESP
Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
UEFA Referee Observer: Vlado Svilokos CRO
UEFA Delegate: Gijs De Jong NED
21:00 CET - Bergamo (New Balance Arena)
ATALANTA BC (ITA) - FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN (GER)
Referee: Espen Eskås NORAssistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Elias Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Sigurd Kringstad NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Martin Atkinson ENG
UEFA Delegate: Paul Lyon GIB
21:00 CET - Newcastle (St James' Park)
NEWCASTLE UNITED FC (ENG) - FC BARCELONA (ENG)
Referee: Marco Guida ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Giorgio Peretti ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Giuseppe Perrotti ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Drago Kos SVN
UEFA Delegate: Georges Lüchinger LIE
21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Metropolitano)
CLUB ATLÉTICO DE MADRID (ESP) - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC (ENG)
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: Rob Dieperink NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Domenico Messina ITA
UEFA Delegate: Emil Ubias CZE
Manzano and Eskas appear to have received backing from UEFA after what, in my view, was a somewhat chaotic performance by both in the R32. Eskas in particular struggled with what looked like a fairly straightforward match with a comfortable scoreline. Yet UEFA has opted to appoint him again, albeit Eskas to one of the lesser fixtures imo.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem safe to assume that UEFA was satisfied with all the key decisions, including the handball in Baku. Another detail that stands out is that Eskas will be working with Pinheiro’s VAR. That raises the question of what it says about Pinheiro’s chances of getting a match himself. At this stage of the competition, probably not much, with all the changing VAR roles.
A tidy appointment for Guida in what is, to me, the biggest match of the evening; the match of the day and the one most eyes will be on. Good for him!
Then there’s Gözübüyük in Madrid. It’s been a decent season for him, although on paper this is still La Liga’s number 3 against the Premier League’s number 16. Curious to see whether the gap will be as big in practice. For fans of “law enforcers” (like M), this is one to watch - I’m sure Gözübüyük will bring his cards.
Hard to predict who we’ll see on Wednesday based on the AVARs (Dieperink and Higler seem to work with just about everyone).
I have already wondered whether UEFA is deliberately refraining from using referees this week who are on the list of potential World Cup candidates, in order to give them more recovery after their seminar in Dubai. Gil Manzano, Gözübüyük, and Guida would fit into this picture – Eskas, however, would not.
ReplyDeleteThe seminar of dubai was delayed
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