2025-26 UEFA Europa League, referee appointments for the first legs of semifinals, to be played on 30 April 2026.
Thursday 30 April 2026
21:00 CET - Nottingham (City Ground)
NOTTINGHAM FOREST FC (ENG) - ASTON VILLA FC (ENG)
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
UEFA Delegate: Alexander Miescher SUI
21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC BRAGA (POR) - SC FREIBURG (GER)
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon BEL
Pinheiro and Taylor the referees for the first hand
ReplyDeleteUEFA Protecting Taylor for a potential UCL final ?
ReplyDeleteYou mean "protecting Oliver", right?
DeleteTaylor for the final that's interesting and why not, he has been brilliant this campaign even though reality gives him 20% of getting a final this season
DeleteTaylor's last CL KO game was two years ago!
DeleteIf he was anywhere near the final, there would be no consistency in UEFA's appointments (to put it mildly).
@philipp S obviously you can see that it’s maybe more protecting Oliver which I agree with but I can see them giving him this before a final, that’s probably not happening but I was just questioning about it as now UEFA is giving SF and final to a same ref.
DeleteTaylor had Freiburg just 12 days ago on the previous round.
ReplyDeleteIt would make more sense send another referee here.
Yes, that seems very unneccesary.
DeleteTaylor could have gotten the Vallecano game and there are plenty of alternatives for Braga-Freiburg.
21:00 CET - Nottingham (City Ground)
ReplyDeleteNOTTINGHAM FOREST FC (ENG) - ASTON VILLA FC (ENG)
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: Espen Eskås NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: André Narciso POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
UEFA Delegate: Alexander Miescher SUI
21:00 CET - Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga)
SC BRAGA (POR) - SC FREIBURG (GER)
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
Fourth Official: Chris Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Stuart Attwell ENG
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Kris Bellon BEL
These appointments also eliminate Oliver in the UEL entirely this year unless a miracle happens and he gets the second leg of the premier league derby in Birmingham
ReplyDeleteBy the way, regarding Oliver he will also not get a UCL semi final second leg because he is to officiate a premier league game on Monday (Everton v Man City).
DeleteIt is now turning into a bad year for Oliver ( unlucky) everything going in the opposite direction for the English perhaps FIFA can save him
I wonder, whether a Conference League final (if possible) would be considered a success by him or not.
DeleteConference League match for Zwayer. Are they shielding him for a Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal?
ReplyDeleteNo chance, I think even Siebert is in a better position than him after this season
DeleteSiebert situation is really weird since the last World Cup don’t sure that he is over zwayer
DeleteIt isn't no chance...
Deletehttps://www.dailymail.com/sport/football/article-15770311/UEFA-investigating-referee-sexual-assault-teenage-boy-officiating-match-UK.html
ReplyDeleteWow that’s a big scandal and horrific case.
DeleteWow ? A world cup referee ? Shocking ! A name ?
DeleteSo, UEFA is preserving Michael Oliver for the UCL final if Arsenal do not make it? Which creates the risk that he ends up with nothing; no semi final and no final.
ReplyDeleteTo me it is not surprising he is a candidate because he arguably deserved the final last season instead of Kovacs. But on the other hand, it is somewhat surprising since it means Oliver has to officiate Atletico’s hot potatoes in the final, while his style can be too “permissive” for teams like Atleti (see also his performance as 4O in a hot UEL final) - but no one can deny that the Englishman has been very strong for two seasons in a row and deserves a final for sure.
The ruling, clearly, is that there is no point giving a semifinal 'unsonorous' (said with full respect for both teams of course!) as Braga-Freiburg to one of the big CL final candidates. I would agree with that. Remember that Makkelie's appointment to Atletico-Arsenal is one surely orientated in necessity, rather than a completely free choice. The other possible game for Taylor, Rayo-Strasbourg, seemed better to me than repeating Freiburg, but okay. Martins should have been rejected after the missed red card in Alsace (his assessment must have been that this action was 'a very reckless tactical foul' and not 'violent'; I disagree) but otherwise the choice of Pinheiro is a good one. Eskas won't referee a semifinal, it seems; this could be read in one of two ways.
ReplyDeleteTalking about VAR appointments: Michael Salisbury is working on Taylor's game, he of West Ham vs. Everton controversy. Salisbury was one of VARs at the Limassol course and had that incident occurred in UEFA comps, I hope he would have intervened! Kwiatkowski for Rumsas (in the last round, the Lithuanian had Dieperink) suggests that Marciniak won't referee in the semifinals?
DeleteI agree on Eskas. His situation in UEFA really is hard to read. If he is considered for the ECL final, he should have gotten at least a EL QF, better a EL (or CL) SF in my opinion. Now, his appointments in the KO stage are rather thin. But it still could happen.
DeleteKwiatkowski could be an indicator - on the other hand, Marciniak regularly worked with other VARs in this season.
I would have expected Gillett with Taylor, especially as Oliver can't appear in the SFs.