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
DeleteI suspect that Roberto Rosetti did not just decide today at 10:00 that he would like to appoint the "G-referees" this time, but that the planning had already taken place in advance and he did not completely throw it over now.
DeleteInteresting appointments I think UEFA is using this round 16 has a reset for the officials regarding the names for the Tuesday first leg
ReplyDeleteIn Istanbul's challenging atmosphere, Manzano is a risky and surprising choice, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhat is happening with Rossetti’s appointments? Gil Manzano, Eskas, Guida, Gözübüyük? At least for me, unexpected.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean specifically?
DeleteWe are still talking about elite referees working in a normal context for them.
It's true that we often see the same names for many matches, but it's clear that there is a large pool of Elite referees (at least on paper...), not just the World Cup candidates, but the others as well.
Regarding the assignments, in particular, we see significant confidence from UEFA in Eskas, who actually gets this match after a less than perfect outing, at least in my opinion, in Baku.
If the penalty for handball was a penalty, he should have seen it on the pitch, otherwise it was a VAR error (but it doesn't seem like that, given the assignments).
Gil Manzano is also not at his best, certainly a very challenging stadium is waiting for him in Istanbul, we saw with Makkelie.
This one less challenging for me, because English and not Italian team on the other side of the game.
In any case, his Spanish compatriot's mistake in Bergamo was very evident, and perhaps that's also a reason why it's his turn now... I'm sure the no penalty call by Sanchez Martinez was perceived with big disappointment by Rosetti. Easy, very easy, to whistle and give penalty to the Italian side... then in case of mistake, VAR would have corrected.
About the other two, Gozubuyuk is continuing a rather good path this season, and Guida deserved this assignment as well.
You’re right. I was just expecting at least one “bigger” name, so it surprised me a bit that Jesús Gil Manzano and Serdar Gözübüyük are there as well. But it’s clear that this is the round of 16, the first four matches, so there will be room for everyone.
DeleteMaybe my vibes are completely off, but… I have a feeling we might suddenly see a really big name appear in, for example Bodø, or in the Europa League.
ReplyDeleteRosetti surely already has referees in mind for Italy vs. N-Ireland and for the final in that path, and I’d expect him not to use those refs on the biggest ties this week or next week.
Appointments like Manzano, Guida and Gozubuyuk also point to him using a relatively wide pool right now, which suggests some bigger names are being preserved for something bigger that’s coming up.
Exactly well said Anonymous it seems bigger names are being kept in shadows for something else in the future
DeleteOt: Felix's assistant, Christian Dietz, got injured in today's match in Bundesliga. He got replaced by the 4 fo, but didn't not return to the 2 half as a 4 fo.
ReplyDeleteOT:
ReplyDeleteGood performance from Doveri(yes,I said that).Disciplinary control was fine,4 cards for him is like a miracle.
Great style for this game.
But 2 major controversies in stoppage.
1st was cancelled Inter's goal and his late whistle.
And then,IMO VAR should have intervened for Ricci's handball,totally unnatural position and surprised to see no VAR call.
Maybe this all is connected with Inter's controversies and decisions in their favour last couple of games?
i am a big inter fan, I think it was a decent showing for Doveri.
DeleteThe last minute penalty call is a reall on edge case, but I think these contacts should not be whistled.
Manzano stands out as one of Spain's most controversial referees. Following a disastrous officiating performance in his very first Euro 2024 match (France vs. Austria), he was promptly sent packing from the tournament. Unsurprisingly, his name is also missing from the referee roster for the World Cup. On top of that, he has faced severe backlash for his decisions in this season's Champions League fixtures, such as the Bayer Leverkusen vs. PSG clash. Honestly, it’s mind-boggling that he continues to be assigned to high-stakes Champions League matches.
ReplyDelete