The referees in charge of 2025/26 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, second legs, first set to be played on 14 April 2026.
21:00 CET - Liverpool (Anfield)
LIVERPOOL FC (ENG) - PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA)Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marchetti ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marchetti ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Bernardino González Vázquez ESP
UEFA Delegate: Rudolf Řepka CZE
21:00 CET - Madrid (Estadio Metropolitano)
CLUB ATLÉTICO DE MADRID (ESP) - FC BARCELONA (ESP)
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: Mathieu Vernice FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: Mathieu Vernice FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Peter Sippel GER
UEFA Delegate: Christian Kofoed DEN
You could see these appointments coming a mile away.....
ReplyDeleteVincic at the Bernabeu on Wednesday... the question of the Emirates is slightly more complex. Makkelie?
Makkelie did Arsenal-Leverkusen in the last round.
DeleteI think it will be Letexier.
Also I hope Vincic isn't at the Bernabeu on Wednesday! :D
Not bernabeu it is allianz arena
DeleteAgain Italian referee for PSG, once again it's confirmed what we discussed about.
ReplyDeleteAnd Turpin keeps on, no worries. He has almost nothing to lose after the big and outstanding career he had.
Now it could be Letexier in Arsenal game, not a sonorous clash, but this would be only because there weren't other games possible in this round, given his recent assignments, and indeed maybe Vincic in Munich.
Why vincic and mariani gets a game every round in champions because the uefa head referee is Italian and uefa president is slovenia, there is no other reason my opinion absolutely because these are not the best in Europe , but what puzzles for me why this was not happen the era platini and collina and happening now
ReplyDeleteMy friend Abdi, where is Pinheiro? 🤔
DeleteI am shocked no game in round of 16 no game in quarter final untill now
DeleteIt seems rather like UEFA have taken a more critical view of Juve-Gala than I would have (overall okay performance and the difference between correct SYC and wrong straight RC is not much). If the bracket rule is maintained for the Europa League, Pinheiro will either be in the Conference League or completely excluded from the quarterfinals.
DeleteMay be aston villa vs bologna
DeleteAll of you wait until UEFA surprises you with Anthony Taylor in Munich
ReplyDeleteUEFA rejected Anthony Taylor's performance in the match Germany-Spain at Euro 2024. This assessment is well-known publicly because someone leaked it to the online Spanish publication, Relevo (but how Velasco would have reversed 'Omerta' at certain points on Thursday afternoon!). It was also underlined in the 'RAP for Law5 consumption' that this decision was incorrect. I think the chance of Taylor refereeing another big German-Spanish duel, especially when he isn't the highest considered English referee anymore, is near to zero. Marciniak is still injured. As I said, the only two referees with the level/possibility for this game are Vincic and Makkelie. In order to keep the Dutch match official clean for the CL final chance, I think the Slovenian will be in charge. If Letexier does have Arsenal-Sporting, I think this rules him out of (or at least very unlikely for) the CL final for specific reasons.
DeleteAnd I even forgot the most glaringly obvious point - the first leg was Oliver!
DeletePredictable appointments indeed. You can clearly see the pattern in these matches, with UEFA often relying on the same names. Typically, these are referees who have already officiated a Champions League final or are at the final stage of their careers, which minimizes the level of risk. I also expect that the candidates for the final will be active in the Europa League, as that is generally considered a safer route.
DeleteLet's not forget that UEFA also rejected Makkelie from 2024 UEFA EURO when in fact the first assessment was more than positive.
DeleteLet's not also forget that Vincic got the UCL Final out of nowhere...
Talking of such: if one believes Isaac Fouto, and the last weeks have taught us that we probably should, Istvan Kovacs has been rejected by UEFA for his performance in Barcelona-Atletico. It is very unfortunate that this will be widely read as a comment on the goalkick/handball incident and not the DOGSO miss.
Deletehttps://x.com/partidazocope/status/2042364763217543642
If true, we can reflect that Kovacs' run has been quite remarkable since Euro 2020:
2022: Conference final
2023: (supposedly rejected for his handling of Milan-Napoli QF)
2024: Europa final
2025: Champions final
2026: (supposedly rejected for his handling of Barca-Atletico QF)
The semi-final pool is very tight, especially if PSG advances and both French officials work a QF second leg in the lower bracket. I hope UEFA backs Kovacs - the critics he’s facing are unreal.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion. I think the only two realistic candidates for the Champions League final are Makkelie and Oliver, with Makkelie currently in pole position. However, with PSG reaching the final, that option seems unlikely. In that scenario, Oliver would take the final. If the final were PSG against Arsenal, UEFA might instead opt for Letexier, Nieberg or Hernandez?
DeleteLetexier impossible with PSG.
DeleteSorry, my mistake. I meant of course, Nieberg or Hernández.
DeleteWill be interesting to see if Turpin will get a semi final game especially if PSG go through and same for Letexier. Will be a bad choice to not give Turpin a semi final imo.
DeleteKovacs should be backed up by UEFA and receive another game. This is the sensible and morally correct thing to do regarding the management. The complains from the side that lost are shameful.
Delete“Will Szymon Marciniak officiate a match in this round of the Champions League or the Europa League?”
ReplyDeleteIf he’s in shape maybe. We don’t know the status of his injury
DeleteMy instinct says Oliver has been the #1 frontrunner for the UCL final all season.
ReplyDeleteOne small doubt I have is would it be an advantage for the English if the Atléti and their antics go deep. Oliver has officiated the Atleti a few times, but IIRC never in the later KO-stages of the tournament. FIFA appointed a firefighter type referee Kovacs to PSG - Atleti at the CWC. Probably too early to overthink, let’s first see who goes through.
The final is 100% between him and Makkelie. Letexier will probably get a european final also.
DeleteThe UEFA Referees Commission really needs to have the guts and balls to stand behind their referees instead of constantly hanging their heads and listening to the rich club owners and the Slovenian UEFA president. It is truly too idiotic for words that referees (Oliver with the late penalty, Makkelie with the PSG incident, and Taylor with his final) are completely kept away from the clubs where the incident took place; first they get full confidence, and after a mistake, they are banned for years... shameless behavior by UEFA, which shows me how ridiculously badly they treat referees! 0.0 percent trust! And it shows once again who holds the real power within UEFA... club owners and a president, the rest have nothing to say! Basically, it is a big corrupt gang, and money is the most important thing! The entire sport of football is rotting away like this! A prime example is the Champions League, which hasn't been allowed to be called the Champions League for years, but should actually just be called the "I have the most money competition"; each country has only one champion, yet from the rich and big leagues, as many as 3 or 4 clubs participate in the "Champions" League!
ReplyDeleteYour point is clear, but all those exclamation marks are not going to change the situation.
DeleteOliver seems to be allowed to officiate Italian clubs again (just not Juventus or in a final), and Taylor has refereed a German club again. The Makkelie/PSG case is a curious one, because the foul or no foul decision at 1-1 was not decisive for the final outcome, PSG were still going through after the 1-1 was scored. The French media did not blame Makkelie for the loss, and refereeing Donnarumma or Italy has not been an issue since either. So I do wonder: is this incident being made bigger than it actually is..?
UEFA should be careful not to allow clubs and their presidents to damage referees unchecked - just look at what is happening with Kovacs now.
Another concern is that El-Khalaifi is also active in other UEFA bodies as a "club president" (e.g. chairman of the ECA), which raises serious questions about *conflicts of interest*. There are all kinds of rules for banks, we have rules for auditors to make sure they do not *review their own work*, but in football, where huge amounts of money are involved, wearing multiple hats apparently is not a problem.
Finally, UEFA should also make sure that clubs like PSG cannot start ‘cherry picking’ officials, because that undermines fair play and objectivity.
Oh, for crying out loud, can you please stop?
Deletehttps://youtu.be/FqWQTSKCBFw?si=q6FH1GGCZZBYnXPc
ReplyDeleteMinute: 2.38
Referee: FIFA listed, David Dickinson
This took place in the Scottish Premiership, Var recommends an OFR for violent conduct, referee heads to the monitor watches it multiple times and then produces a yellow card! Thoughts?
For me VC. And I honestly also don’t agree with the RC for DOSGO earlier in the video.
DeleteSorry one can't find explanations! Very deliberate act.
DeleteOnce VAR calls, it's out of reality to issue YC. Referee can't think about intensity, it's the action!
Yup this looks like a clear RC
DeleteUhf, I struggle to find an my explanation as to why the ref came to this decision… I don’t recognize any argument in favour of a caution in this particular situation.
DeleteLack of excessive force or intensity can’t be an argument here to downgrade to a YC, as it concerns a hit to the head.
To me a very clear VC requiring a sending off.
“In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible.”
I commented on the general state of affairs but in my opinion this has to be one of the weakest groups of FIFA referees Scotland has produced in a long time. Walsh currently the only one of any quality. Robertson although solid domestically is reduced to being fourth official for Walsh. MacDermid and Nicholson are the two for the future. Dickinson is very inconsistent and for me will struggle to reach the heights. Hardie and Lee for me are two of the weaker referees of the FIFA guys. In terms of top clashes, realistically there are only 5/6 referees that can be trusted to handle them and that is a shame. For me William Collum has done a good job at bringing though new referees and giving them the experience but as an avid viewer of Premiership and Championship football, I express my concern at the overall depth of officials able to handle games. Most who can have missed the opportunity to be FIFA nominated and some can count themselves unlucky that they were not selected.
DeleteThe level of officiating in Scotland is very worrying, var was introduced three seasons ago and it seems like we are going backwards due to reasons such as consistency. Collum has created his own var review show in which he contradicts himself in almost every video just to backup his officials, who like you say can’t be compared to older names, such as Thomson. It’s sad to see names like Beaton, Clancy and McLean slowly fading away, i absolutely agree on what you say about the new FIFA referees they just don’t seem to have it. Thank god for the brilliant Walsh who’s keeping Scottish refereeing alive. Let’s see what the future holds but Collum has a long journey ahead of him after this horrendous domestic season in terms of consistency and decisions like Dickinsons in this clip. With one of the most impressive title races in all of Europe taking place, I can only predict Beaton and Walsh being used in all of the important fixtures that remain.
DeleteCompletely agree ScotRef, it's not all doom and gloom in fairness. There are currently a few referees showing promise in the lower divisions and hopefully in a season or two theyll emerge but currently for top matches the pool is never been worryingly light. For the "title" deciders it's between Walsh, Robertson, Beaton and McLean and possibly Clancy. Worrying trend where I am not convinced it's going to ease anytime soon.
DeleteThe VAR review show for me is nonsense. Constant contradictions and throughout the show Collum talks of what clubs in Scotland want and expect then next clip he's using UEFA guidelines.
Out of the referees I have seen this season my top performers are Walsh, McLean and Beaton in the top games with more generally Nicholson having a good season with his new FIFA badge.
We all saw it coming for Turpin, but it seems that with the absence of Marciniak, the committee has full trust in him, and this also means that his performance in Bosnia was seen as a positive one.
ReplyDeleteNothing to say about Mariani, he gets a very big game due to his nationality, and the fear of seing him getting a european semi final is there sadly.
Good first half from Kavanagh especially also AR2.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing I don’t agree with is YC on Semenyo, unnecessary in my opinion.
Overall decent by Kavanagh.. also maybe missed yc after foul on rodri, but overall nice and solid.
DeleteGood no penalty call imo in beginning of second half for the sequence between Doku and Palmer
+1 Kavanagh really officiated like an elite referee
Delete1st half no controversy by Ghorbal, but too many whistles and interrupting the flow of the game, clearly not WC level
ReplyDeleteGhorbal have since lost the magic touch that once made him the best ref in Africa. He should have gotten the Gil Manzano treatment. He had a very average AFCON with just 2 poor matches. Issa Sy is a far better referee right now and should have been selected for the World cup. I am sure Colina will regret the decision to leave Sy at home and select Ghorbal.
DeleteSame thing for Ghorbal in second half, plus a VAR intervention needed to cancel a goal ( though not easy to see live).. didn’t like him much today
DeleteDavide Massa with questionable foul decisions in Como vs Inter. Many fouls calls and yellow cards. Some correct and some totally wrong. One such wrong foul decision led to Inter goal for 3-2. And now another wrong one leads to a penalty. Quite inconsistent but a very entertaining match.
ReplyDeleteAgree for me no penalty
DeleteDont know about no penalty,but very refreshing styles both from Hernandez and Massa,no leniency and not hesitant to show cards.
DeleteLove ti see that more often,but that style is not trendy enough.
If a penalty was given in the WC for this, it would be crazy. Attacker kicks the defender between the legs on the follow-through. Goal kick…
DeleteOT: Is Isaac Fouto really the “best” the CTA/RFEF/LaLiga can find to defend their referees? His approach is severely off-putting. Downplaying the horrific optics with the CdR final appointments. Literally I don’t know of another federation that uses an immature (to say it lightly) mouthpiece to leak information and defend *everything*. Quite pathetic imo.
ReplyDeleteHow can you be so rude towards someone who is extremely knowledgeable (what and how do most other journalists write about referees and refereeing?!) and even besides that, has provided time and again invaluable information for us? Please...
DeleteMikaeel, please. This is “Isaac Fouto”: “ ATENCIÓN trompeteros, mamporreros y felpudos del régimen expertos en la MANIPULACIÓN y RELATOS falsos y orquestados
Delete👉Javi Alberola (y resto del equipo) fueron designados para la final de Copa hace 1 mes. Sí que es un premio, pero a su trayectoria como árbitro. No alarmen 👋” ==> ATTENTION trumpeters, bootlickers, and doormats of the regime, experts in MANIPULATION and false, orchestrated NARRATIVES
👉Javi Alberola (and the rest of the team) were appointed for the Copa final a month ago. Yes, it is an award, but for his track record as a referee. Don't raise alarms 👋. Now come and tell me again about how “rude” I’m being towards him. He’s pathetic. I stand by that.
DeleteI think both
"Isaac Fouto's info/leaks re: Spanish refereeing are very often reliable and must be taken into account because he has close sources within CTA-RFEF"
and
"Isaac Fouto is an idiot who enjoys ragebaiting fans on Twitter on purpose while playing 'referees' attorney' and as a consequence creating more refereeing hatred by being unable to read the room"
can be true at the same time!
Update from Serie A with the official assessments by AIA that were published today regarding some incidents that were also reported here on the blog. The work of the VAR in Como–Inter was judged absolutely wrong for changing only the free kick initially awarded by Massa into a penalty kick, simply because the contact occurred inside the box. Incredibly, it is not clear, thank to the release of the VAR audio clip, that VAR Aureliano checked only the exact point of contact, taking for granted that it was a foul, without even reviewing whether it was actually a foul or not. So he carried out a merely geographical check without adding anything else, and in a very short time communicated the decision to Massa. Absolutely shocking once again, something like this. We know VARs are there only to do that, but they forget something fundamental. There was absolutely no comment by both VAR and AVAR on the action itself, which was judged by Rocchi committee to be completely regular, because the player made a challenge attempting an active opposition to the shot and there was also space between the two bodies, so in the end it was the attacker who kicked the defender.
ReplyDeleteThis year we have really experienced d a series of mistakes that are out of this world. And still, one would not expect this from Italian referees in certain circumstances, given their abilities. Many times I have criticized referees from other nations, but I must say that this year what we have seen under Rocchi has been aberrant, hard to find the best term to describe it. Sorry, but I have to repeat it once again, because it can't be that the level is this low.
Next, we have the slightly more complex incident from Florence, which you also discussed last night: Fabbri on the field with VAR Paterna, who called him to screen because a caution for simulation was considered excessive and, in his view, it was a penalty. Here, the committee absolutely agreed with the on-field decision by referee; although a caution for simulation might be considered an excessive opposite decision, it was still preferred by them, with the incident never seen as a penalty because the contact was too light. Fabbri also got angry at the monitor but from the VAR room, once again Aureliano (AVAR in this game), the protagonist of Como-Inter, tried to insist on awarding the penalty. VAR Paterna even has to silence Aureliano, telling him to let the referee on the field decide. So this is the situation.
In the end, fortunately, Fabbri confirmed his decision, but he almost insulted the VAR room (he would have done that, I'm sure...), being extremely nervous, sending the players away. However, only a referee at the end of his career like him, a former international referee with nothing to lose, can do something like that. You can well understand that in the same situation, a young referee who is called at monitor by an experienced VAR on something like this would follow the VAR advice, and this has been the plot of this year's disaster under Rocchi.
In any case, for Aureliano, after these repeated disasters, words must be used for what they are, a very long suspension has been planned. The former referee from the Bologna, also coming from the same department of Rizzoli, has had complicated times as a VAR, because it has clearly emerged that he is too intrusive in the work of the referee on the field, almost wanting to make the decisions himself, unfortunately I have to say that, and that's the worst attitude for somebody who wants to work as VAR.
CTA-RFEF review on the Mbappé incident is "PK is a better decision than no PK, correct by VAR to stay silent"
ReplyDelete