2026-27 UEFA Champions League, Play-Offs, First Legs, games to be played on 18 August 2026.
Tuesday 18 August 2026
LEVSKI SOFIA (BUL) - AEK (GRE)
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erwin Blank NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman NED
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Dennis Johan Higler NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Erwin Blank NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Marinus Koopman NED
21:00 CET - Zagreb (Maksimir)
DINAMO ZAGREB (CRO) - VIKING FK (NOR)
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük NED
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Inia NED
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig NED
Fourth Official: Joey Kooij NED
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Richard Martens NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Nobs SUI
UEFA Delegate: Peter Elsworth ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig NED
Fourth Official: Joey Kooij NED
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel NED
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Richard Martens NED
UEFA Referee Observer: Markus Nobs SUI
UEFA Delegate: Peter Elsworth ENG
21:00 CET - Istanbul (Chobani Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi)
FENERBAHÇE (TUR) - OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS (FRA)
Referee: Sven Jablonski GER
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2:Eric Müller GER Christian Gittelmann GER
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel GER
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pascal Müller GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Michael Riley ENG
UEFA Delegate: Iva Olivari-Uliša CRO
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel GER
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Pascal Müller GER
UEFA Referee Observer: Michael Riley ENG
UEFA Delegate: Iva Olivari-Uliša CRO
I never expected Sven Jablonski as a possibility. It's a much tougher match for him than the 4 Champions League matches he has officiated in his career. I hope he handles the pressure. And that means Jablonski is UEFA's new favorite. We're going to be seeing a lot more of him.
ReplyDeleteI can say from experiences in the Bundesliga that he fits perfect for big matches and he definitely knows how to handle this pressure. But we will see. He doesn’t have that much international big tests
DeleteI admit I was surprised by Jablonski's appointment. I had actually expected Nyberg to referee the match in Istanbul, or perhaps Eskas, Hdz Hdz, Pinheiro, or Massa.
DeleteIt's a good game for Sven. If he passes this test smoothly, his career will take off even faster. I really like him, but I'm not a fan of his body language on the pitch. He is way too soft on the players; I want to see him look stern and take a firm stand. Sven is always smiling.
ReplyDeleteHow dare a referee smile…
Deletebally99 ! If you watch the matches of Turpin, Marciniak, Vincic, Taylor, Oliver, Zwayer, Kovacs, and Letexier, you will understand the difference in their presence on the pitch. Of course, a referee should smile, but Sven is too good-natured, and that allows players to easily manipulate him. I just wanted to explain this
DeleteThat's wrong. Jablonski is definitely not too good-natured and is not easily manipulated.
ReplyDeleteA truly excellent assignment for Jablonski. He appears to have the commission's trust and is under its constant observation, with the potential for future development.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful assignment for Jablonski, yet at the same time a very tough match. I wish him the best of luck... the commission really trusts him
ReplyDeleteAndrew Dallas, who was the VAR official in yesterday's Fenerbahçe match, has now been assigned to today's Beşiktaş - Eyup match.
ReplyDeleteDuring yesterday's match, Dallas failed to award Fenerbahçe two clear penalties, igniting major controversy after the final whistle.
Appointing Dallas to another critical match immediately the next day triggered severe backlash and outrage from the Fenerbahçe side.
Former Turkish FIFA referees and football commentators are criticizing both yesterday's refereeing decisions and the Turkish Football Federation's (TFF) controversial appointment choice.
This situation indicates that a major new test has begun for the federation and Taylor.
+ Andrew’s Father Hugh Dallas has a direct, long-standing institutional connection to Turkish football. He served as a Referee Development Consultant for the Turkish Football Federation from 2022 to 2025.
DeleteI give Anthony Taylor 6 months. He'll probably leave Turkey in 6 months with those gorgeous new hair implants..
DeleteYeah but that's the problem with using foreign VARs. He had obviously been promised two games, and it's not that easy to just find another one that can jump in on such short notice, unless you use a local
DeleteGreat appointment for the German referee, clearly favored by the committee. It will be a good test to see what he can aim for during the season, and we will also see later what season his compatriot Zwayer will have after a completely negative previous one; as for the rest of the appointments, Gözübüyük and Nyberg are standard choices.
ReplyDeleteJablonski was awful in an england friendly game before the wc, lets hope hes improved as this is a massive appointment
ReplyDeleteYes, he was awful. Can Jablonski handle this match in Istanbul's high-pressure atmosphere? Honestly, I have my doubts.. It's going to be a tough environment for him
DeleteLyon is not problematic team. But agree strange choice here by committee.
DeleteExcellent simulation detected by barrott in the community shield at 38!
ReplyDeleteI like what I am seeing from Barrott
Deletehttps://x.com/baysesports/status/2089008944668623001?s=46
DeleteWhat are you liking about this tackle? Nothing given. VAR sleeping or is this the e new approach to leave clear missed incodents on the pitch?
Yeah, more red than yellow.
DeleteOther than this, faultless and great Barrott overall.
My comment was before that tackle.. that could clearly have been a rc.. other than that very good by barrott
DeleteAbout head injuries and the 'one-minute penalty' (I call it that on purpose). To be honest, it seems like a rather poor combination.
ReplyDeleteI watched Feyenoord - Go Ahead today. Feyenoord’s Watanabe was struck in the face by an opponent’s arm and crumpled to the ground for a moment. Referee Joey Kooij immediately stopped play, but Feyenoord’s trainer Van Bronckhorst did not send medical staff onto the field to avoid a time penalty. Watanabe also got up straight away and insisted he was fine. However, in accordance with the rules, he was sent off for one minute.
For several years now, referees have been stopping matches at the slightest hint of a potential head injury, without taking any risks. However, under this rule, coaches naturally won’t take the risk of receiving a one-minute penalty. It seems that there is an illogical contradiction in what is being asked for overall.
This rule was designed to foster a so-called "macho culture," and I wouldn't deny that it functions very well in that regard. However, it seems to me that—for the sake of everyone involved—decisions regarding head injuries should be made more strictly.
In my opinion, it makes sense to give someone with a head injury a minute to recover and to be checked. In this case, it should not be seen as punishment, but as protection for the players.
DeleteVery interesting situation for Sesma Espinosa, who didn’t whistle a DOGSO claimed by Racing Santander. Very tight call early in the second half. I will try to find a video
ReplyDeletesuper clear DOGSO
DeleteAndrew Dallas, the controversial VAR referee from yesterday's match in the Turkish league, is back on duty tonight. Deliberately pulling hair should have been a red card!
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/golkoliktvv/status/2089061328614728175?s=46
It's a tough one, given I'm not sure if everywhere referees it the same way at the moment, and it may take some time to settle on what reaches what threshold. I can't comment on the local expectation, but can also see why a VAR might see that as YC only
DeleteMartinez and Neves saw red last year despite milder hair-pulling incidents... this is a clear red card.
DeleteAgain, can't speak for anywhere else, but England has had a clear change in how hairpulls are officiated this year. I don't know if this has happened anywhere else however
DeleteRed card by Pignard in French Super Cup
ReplyDeletehttps://streamin.link/v/cdaa3733
Great decision
DeleteLight contact. Reckless. Red card is not expected.
DeleteRed card is not expexcted?
DeleteMaybe on Sunday league...
Very brave and correct decision
VG's comment is (mostly) correct. I would go as far as to say that this RC is a bad decision and should be borderline to an intervention: the Lens player has the better path to the ball, plays the ball fairly, and then it is the PSG player who steps into his opponent's path, at which point the contact occurs. We have reached the stupid point in refereeing now that much discretion and understanding from referees has been removed, and virtually the only criteria in assessing SFPs is hitting point. Indeed: for the sake of giving an example, the actual intensity of the contact in Ramos Rizo's RC to Ronaldinho was probably no more that this incident, but that expulsion was correct because the defender got to the ball first, and the Brazil player went 'over the top' with no chance to reach the ball.
DeleteThe red card to PSG was correct (but should probably have been restarted with a freekick to them) and the missed advantage/disallowed 'goal' was a consequence of Pignard being on 'red alert' having just made the match 10v10 and probably, to his detriment, not feeling in much control of the game.
Brave would be to give a yellow by showing that you judged the force correctly….
DeletePignard has lost the control.. Lens's goal was disallowed by an early whistle.. a terrible situation for the referee..
ReplyDeleteJablonski and nyberg should swap. How is a ref who went to the wc be appointed to this game and a ref who didn't go to the wc get appointed to a bigger game.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Jablonski cannot handle this match. Anyone who watched the Uruguay vs. England match understands this. Jablonski is still very young; a more experienced referee was a must. Experienced referees are definitely needed, especially in matches played by big Turkish teams at their home stadiums. Last year, UEFA assigned top-tier referees to Galatasaray’s home matches. This match is no different.
DeleteBoth teams will compete for a place in the Champions League and the entry revenue is between 50 and 60 million euros.
Where is gillet? English refs have been appointed in ucl and uecl but he has not been appointed as var to any of them.
ReplyDeleteHe did a Liverpool friendly on the 9th against Monaco.
DeleteIt‘s very unfair when some people reduce Jablonski on that one match. His performances in the UEFA competitions were very good also in difficult matches. Furthermore he shows top performances in Bundesliga since years.
ReplyDeleteHe deserves this appointment
Users like EDINROVIC19, who are mainly here to bash certain referees, are completely out of place. We should all be happy to see young referees like Letexier, Schröder and Jablonski have long and successful careers.
ReplyDeleteIt’s completely normal that even a top referee can have a game where things just don’t go well. Using one bad game as a reason to constantly attack certain referees in these blogs is something I find pretty weak.
A well deserved appointment for the German TOP Referee.
Schärer*
DeleteThis is a really big match for Sven Jablonski. If he handles this tough assignment successfully, he has a very bright future ahead of him.
ReplyDeleteIt’s understandable that Rosetti wants to see him in a match of this magnitude!
Collina will be watching closely as well.
Jablonski has a massive opportunity right now.
I hope he can cope with the pressure and the intense atmosphere that will be created in Istanbul
I wish all the referees the best of luck. I can't wait to watch Jablonski in this tough and challenging game .
ReplyDeleteJablonski's whistle can't be heard. He should blow harder!
ReplyDeleteCould you please write something meaningful here? The whistle is clearly audible on TV.
DeleteChristian Gittelman is AR2 in Turkey rather than Eric Muller
ReplyDeleteMaybe a correction by UEFA after the original appointment of assistant referees by DFB? I don't remember a previous game by Eric Muller in UEFA senior competitions and this was absolutely not a suitable one for a debut. More experienced assistant referee was needed.
DeleteRosetti doesn't let Artan get away.
ReplyDeleteThe Somali referee has received a major invitation from UEFA.
He has been invited to attend the UEFA Men’s Summer Course 2026, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 31 August to 2 September 2026.
But there’s more. UEFA has also indicated that they want Omar Artan to officiate football matches in Europe.
This is fantastic !
DeleteUEFA currently has 291 referees and they want to bring someone from CAF to officiate in UEFA Competitions instead of developing their own referees.
DeleteYeah, it makes perfect sense.
Sorry. It gotten a bit too much now. His federation is CAF not UEFA.
DeleteArtan is more than qualified to be a professional referee in a big European league and UEFA competitions. I can't see why referees from developing countries should not have the same career opportunities as players.
DeleteI can understand both points of view. Personally, without any bias, I lean more towards those who say that UEFA has its own referees and in the end, an invitation for a single match is fine, but if things continue like this, eventually this could be done with everyone.
DeleteNevertheless, on the other hand, the human side always prevails (Artan was very happy with UEFA after the game for the chance he was given), and more generally, this very long story makes us understand Rosetti's perspective and attitudes. Before the strictly technical aspect, he likes to put other arguments.
But that's exaggeration. Uefa has their own refs and Caf has their own refs. Its already too much. To other referees this is very unfair.
DeleteThe problem in all this is that Artan isn't really that good, nor was his performance in the Super Cup last week anymore than passable/average (I couldn't believe the comments here!). Shit is going to hit the fan Ecuador-Germany style, and the career of a young referee is going to be ruined for their own PR, if UEFA are not careful.
DeleteSame Mikael!!
DeleteThis is all politics and just to go against FIFA. They use him to promote themselves. They made the Super Cup all about the referee instead of the teams.
DeleteOmar artan to referee this season ucl final here we go. This is disgraceful from rosetti n uefa. Yes they feel bad for artan after missing out on the wc but this is just utter woke nonsense now. You've given him the super cup already that's enough.
DeleteReally poor card management from Jabonski
ReplyDeleteDISAGREE.
DeleteA lot of work for the German referee. He’s doing a really good job. Clear body language. He’s not falling for the soft challenges and easy falls on either side. He remains very STABLE. Impressive!!!
He should obviously have booked Semedo (45') for off-the-ball holding and not to have done so is a clear mistake but apart from that, no problems in disciplinary measures during the 1half.
DeleteA good performance from Jablonski so far—composed, with good body language; a yellow card was absolutely necessary and was duly shown.
DeleteAgreed with Mikael, apart from that situation, in which a YC was mandatory for me as well, I saw a good first half by the German referee.
Delete@Altess
DeleteYou must be watching the game with Laws of the game book in front of you 👍🏻
Well read penalty area incident by Nyberg:
ReplyDeletehttps://streama.in/OzK451GXwU6Oau9/watch
Absolutely excellent because that's a classic situation for a VAR intervention, when referees very often whistle penalty because they think about a kick by defender and not the contrary.
DeleteThe Swedish looked very cool and alert when he signaled defending free kick.
Jablonski not letting the medical staff in for a big head to head contact, nonsense and terrible decision.
ReplyDeleteJablonski gave Skriniar a ridiculous yellow card for a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge.
ReplyDeleteIt was a correct (and actually very good) decision to book him for a premeditated late foul, and he landed heavily on the opponent afterwards too. Overall, it was a good, expected level performance by Jablonski. To say the game was 'easy' would be a jump too far, but the match was not remarkably challenging.
DeleteCongratulations! A very strong performance from the German referee. He was in complete control of the match for the full 90 minutes. An excellent performance, with total acceptance from the players and outstanding body language. Well done Jablonski!
ReplyDeleteAEK with 18 fouls and no yellow card.
ReplyDeleteNyberg let them do whatever they wanted all the game, small fouls. I am not fan on this style .
Jablonski great game!
Even someone like Nyberg can have a moment like that Hm. Normally, he’s a very good referee…
DeleteHuge credit to the committee and UEFA for giving Jablonski this match. It was a big assignment. I expected him to do well, but it was still a very good decision to appoint him.
Nyberg with a solid performance in Sofia. He anticipated a hot clash and chose a specific tactic: be very alert to offences. It looked a good approach as the first foul was a deliberate off-the-ball push around five seconds after the kick-off! The players behaved well throughout the rest of the game, though, maybe also thank to focused approach by the referee. The game was of normal difficulty with both teams focused on defending and not conceding a goal.
ReplyDeleteNyberg set the threshold for the fouls being given quite low but it was the opposite regarding disciplinary sanctions. He could've booked AEK No6 (70'- reckless) and AEK No44 (80'- SPA holding) but decided not to. VAR corrected a blatantly wrong corner kick at AR2 in 40'.
It seems that the Swede lost his focus a little bit in the last quarter. After the possible YC not given in 79', he didn't play an advantage after a foul on GK (82') and awarded a throw-in instead of a FK (83'). The positioning was not always optimal, being caught too close to the ball close to penalty areas on several occasions.
The match, which was expected to be difficult, turned out to be easy. Both teams played as if they were content with a draw. JABLONSKİ made a few refereeing mistakes with cards. The 3 minutes of stoppage time he gave was not the right decision; the game had stopped a lot in the second half due to injuries, and he should have added 6 to 7 minutes. It was the first time I saw Kanté protesting. At the end of the match, it was nice to see him hugging Jablonski after the dialogue they had during the game. Congratulations, Jablonski. 👏
ReplyDeleteGood performance by the German, but three minutes of added time wasn't the correct choice, once again we see that German referees are used to Bundesliga and they don't care too much about this aspect, but in other competitions and in UEFA games this is more irmportant.
ReplyDeleteUp to Rosetti to discuss this topic during the Summer Course, for consistency purposes.
To add, he should have shown that YC in first half, but apart from that a good appearance in a game that, I agree, wasn't really challenging as one could have expected. So it was an appropriate choice by committee to send him to first leg. It's evident that we will have a more experienced name in Lyon.. and the game will be more challenging for sure.
I agree, 3 minutes of added time was perhaps the biggest mistake he made in the match. The ball-in-play time in the second half was 24 minutes... Lyon players wasted a lot of time. Sven was a bit weak here. For the second leg, there is no candidate other than Mariani, for the reasons I mentioned before
DeleteWell, the match was not as challenging as many expected? True, BUT that was even the result of Jablonskis's "natural authority", strong body language and very good communication. He is still young and has some inconsistencies regarding the disciplinary line, but he is one of the biggest talents since long time. If he stays on his path, he might rise (hopefully not too) quickly. This friendly match in London is the only really bad game from him I ever saw and in Bundesliga his style is exactly the same, including his ability to read games and adapt his line, being very strict if necessary. Well done, he deserves the trust from Rosetti and committee!
DeleteTo my knowledge, the added time is calculated by the VAR and communicated to the fourth official/referee.
DeleteIs Jablonski of polish descent?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteHis Surname is Polish and he has never refereed matches of Polish teams. That's why I asked.
DeleteThere are several referees/assistants in Bundesliga with Polish names. Sven Jablonski (Polish: Jabłoński), Christian Bandurski, Rafael Foltyn, Lasse Koslowski (Kozłowski), Daniel Bartnitzki (Bartnicki), Vanessa Kaminski (Kamiński), Katrin Rafalski. And Daniel Siebert's second given name is clearly Polish Stanislaw (Stanisław)!
DeleteJablonski has already officiated Jagiellonia and Raków.
DeleteSerdar Gözübüyük with a good performance in a normal difficulty game in Zagreb. The biggest call was allowing the first goal of the game by Dinamo in 6' - onside by AR2. It seems the SAOT system was not in use or there was some malfunction because the check was long and we were not offered the image with lines.
ReplyDeleteGood warning after challenge against neck/head by DZG No8 (27'), correct YC to VIK No8 for reckless challenge against the head (65'). The YC to DZG No25 for off-the-ball holding SPA was a little bit harsh given there was mutual offence going on (83'). Very good alertness regarding stealing metres at throw-ins (82', 90+4')!