2026/27 UEFA Champions League, League Phase, Matchday 1. Second set of referee appointments, Wednesday 9 September 2026.
9 September 2026
18:45 CET - Barcelona (Camp Nou)
FC BARCELONA (ESP) - FEYENOORD (NED)
Referee: Sven Jablonski GERAssistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Eric Müller GER
Fourth Official: Tobias Reichel GER
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Andrew Dallas SCO
UEFA Referee Observer: Gianluca Rocchi ITA
UEFA Delegate: Alojzije Šupraha CRO
18:45 CET - Stuttgart (MHPArena)
VFB STUTTGART (GER) - VIKING FK (NOR)
Referee: Nenad Minaković SRBAssistant Referee 1: Nikola Borović SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Boško Božović SRB
Fourth Official: Danilo Nikolić SRB
Video Assistant Referee: Ivan Bebek CROAssistant Video Assistant Referee: Momčilo Marković SRB
UEFA Referee Observer: Alberto Undiano Mallenco ESP
UEFA Delegate: Neil Morrow NIR
21:00 CET - Paris (Parc des Princes)
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN (FRA) - ŠK SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (SVK)
Referee: Mykola Balakin UKRAssistant Referee 1: Oleksandr Berkut UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Viktor Matyash UKR
Fourth Official: Dmytro Panchyshyn UKR
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Salisbury ENG
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Matej Jug SVN
UEFA Referee Observer: Lutz Michael Fröhlich GER
UEFA Delegate: Mark Blackbourne ENG
21:00 CET - Liverpool (Anfield)
LIVERPOOL FC (ENG) - CLUB ATLÉTICO DE MADRID (ESP)
Referee: Davide Massa ITAAssistant Referee 1: Filippo Meli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alessio Berti ITA
Fourth Official: Matteo Marcenaro ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Daniele Chiffi ITA
UEFA Referee Observer: Stefan Meßner AUT
UEFA Delegate: Thomas Grimm SUI
21:00 CET - Lisbon (Estádio José Alvalade)
SPORTING CP (POR) - GALATASARAY (TUR)
Referee: Espen Eskås NORAssistant Referee 1: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Alf Olav Rossland NOR
Fourth Official: Sigurd Kringstad NOR
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
UEFA Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB
UEFA Delegate: Mark Evans WAL
21:00 CET - Naples (Stadio Diego Armando Maradona)
SSC NAPOLI (ITA) - ARSENAL FC (ENG)
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWEAssistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard FRA
UEFA Referee Observer: Nuno Parreira De Castro POR
UEFA Delegate: Haris Gvozden BIH
Nenad Minaković? I heard his name for the first time... there are big surprises appointments.
ReplyDeleteIf you never heard Minakovic, you should study more in order to write on this blog :)
Delete😀😀 I generally follow the referees who officiate Champions League matches..it's going to be a debut for him. :)
DeleteYou are hearing Nenad Minakovic for the first time? Did you start following this blog today?
DeleteHe is only 36 years old. He has a total of just 8 matches in UEFA competitions. I don't follow the Serbian league
DeleteIm sorry but HB2300 is correct. This is a ref who hasnt even officiated a europa ko match yet. Big shock to be appointed to a cl game.
DeleteHello! I think “shocking” might be a bit of a strong word here. This is actually not an unusual trajectory for referees who have progressed successfully through the UEFA Talent Programme.
DeleteThere are comparable examples, such as Manfredas Lukjančukas and Nick Walsh. Walsh, for instance, made his Champions League debut without previously refereeing in the knockout stage of any UEFA club competition.
So perhaps before describing an appointment as “shocking”, it’s worth looking at the wider context of how UEFA develops and promotes referees. With that context in mind, Minaković’s appointment is actually quite understandable.
All the best!
Barcelona - Feyenoord: Jablonski (GER)
ReplyDeleteStuttgart - Viking: Minakovic (SRB)
PSG - Slovan Bratislava: Balakin (UKR)
Liverpool - Atlético: Massa (ITA)
Sporting CP - Galatasaray: Eskas (NOR)
Napoli - Arsenal: Nyberg (SWE)
CL GS debut for the Serbian referee.
Congrats to Minakovic. After good officiating at eternal derby, ready for next step. Hope he will be top. Under eye for possible elite promotion in January!
ReplyDeleteGood? He had bad performance. VAR correction for penalty, not giving clears YCs to both sides. From what we know from him he didnt had good game.
DeleteI believe the stronger candidate for Elite is Sylwestrzak. He is two years younger. He made his Champions League debut a year ago and will soon be officiating the U20 Intercontinental Cup at the Santiago Bernabéu.
DeleteSylwestrzak is definitely one more name in "Elite development" group and I like him as a referee a lot. Just to add I would like to know what is U20 International cup?
Deletehttps://www.uefa.com/under20intercontinental/
DeleteIf Minakovic leads a CL game, what about Jasper Vergoote ? He was also in the Talent group last year, but nothing heard since then. Mr Rosetti and his team do not like his style ? Or do you need other "skills" to be appointed at CL level ? What I see generally is that, nearly all refs make at some point mistakes, even ununderstandable ones. But : for some referees, that is not a problem to be appointed soon again. Or to be appointed for the first time. For others, like Visser (same age as Minakovic ! only 36 ) and maybe Vergoote as well (although that is maybe too early to say for the latter), they are considered as non Elite material after few consideration. I hate to say it, but I will do it : Rosetti whistled in 2008 the Euro final, whereas Bussaca and De Bleeckere did the semi finals. Well, whereas the first two have a brilliant career in refereeing afterwards, our Belgian has never really been of any weight to promote Belgian referees. I know, we have Lambrechts now as first Elite ref since 14 years, but he is not given a lot of opportunities neither. He was injured two weeks ago indeed, but no news about him on UCL level. We need a heavy weight in EUFA. As long as this is not the case, our referees will not be treated as, let's say, Italian/Spanish/French/German/English..... referees (or even Dutch ones : they are much more supported internationally)
DeleteMy predictions for the upcoming referee appointments.
ReplyDeleteFenerbahce - Roma
Letexier/Turpin
Psv - Shaktar donetsk
Halil umut meler
Bayern - bodo Glimt
Chris kavanagh/Walsh
Slavia prague - Lens
Felix zwayer
Como 1907 - Leipzig
Gözübüyük
Manchester united - Sabah
Pinheiro..
Eredivisie round 5
ReplyDeleteSC Telstar - SC Cambuur
Referee: Joey Kooij / VAR: Martijn Vos
A lot happened in the Eredivisie last weekend. I saw that Van der Eijk’s first 'topper' (big match) had already been talked about on this blog. I was happy to see how much he’s grown, too.
And then there’s Joey Kooij.
1. The RC decision for Thórisson (Telstar) just past the 20-minute mark is unbelievable. He extended his leg for the tackle, but it wasn't a challenge made with his full body weight and momentum. It's true that the contact was a little high and hit the opponent's knee. But it was really just a slight contact—it barely grazed him. And as always, Vos fails to make a positive impression on me in his role as VAR. This RC should be canceled (without suspension) in a few hours.
https://youtu.be/sOMrkoe1bXs?t=84
2. Here is another scene: the procedure for overturning a penalty.
During a corner kick, Kooij penalized a Cambuur player for holding and awarded a penalty to Telstar. However, Vos intervened. After review, Kooij determined that the holding offense had finished before play restarted; he therefore canceled the penalty and ordered a retake of the corner kick.
https://youtu.be/sOMrkoe1bXs?t=438
In our daily practice, it is standard procedure that the referee does not review a position of holding as it is factual decision. So why on earth should the referee need to review for themselves when the holding ended? I simply cannot understand it. Have you ever seen procedures like this in other countries?
3. Handball on the line?
The VAR was able to convince themselves that it was on the line, that is, inside the penalty area. I'm curious whether this is clear and obvious. The camera captures the 16-meter line straight on from the side; the left edge of the ball appears to be overlapping the line, implying that the point of contact was likely on the line as well. It's almost the same situation as whether the ball has crossed the goal line or not. Therefore, intervention is likely correct. I would prefer a bit more clarity when judging based on the raw footage, though.
https://youtu.be/sOMrkoe1bXs?t=488
Incidentally, this was a historic match in which the first ever event in Eredivisie occurred. If you don't know the result, you should definitely check it out!
Whew, for me the SFP RC is an excellent decision.
DeleteThe prosecutor for professional football, who has reviewed footage and statements regarding Thórisson's red card, deems the infringement insufficiently proven by the rules and convincingly proven, and has decided to dismiss the case. 'The prosecutor is of the opinion that, based on the available information, it cannot be sufficiently established that there was serious foul play or an infringement justifying a direct red card,' Telstar said in a statement.
Deleteat this point, the italian hierarchy for UEFA keeps getting very confusing .. who is n°1/n°2/n°3/n°4 ... Wasn't expecting Sozza at all , and didn't give a big probability to Massa ...
ReplyDeleteThese are still the early matches of the season, after all.
DeleteHowever, I think that Mariani should probably be seen as the current number one after having attended WC, even if on paper the representative for Italian active referees is Guida (given his longer experience on the lists, compared to Mariani).
Guida, however, is now on decline, mainly because he no longer guarantees physical reliability, and I think he might retire either at the end of this season or perhaps after the next one.
Then there's Massa who, as we know, has never been considered for major tournaments.
Next is Sozza, who was in complete difficulty until the end of last season, though "masked' by Rocchi", who kept assigning him despite his poor performances.
UEFA didn't do the same, but now, with the new season underway and this start with Dortmund -. Villarreal, something new might happen. More than anything, I just hope he starts refereeing well, the rest can follow.
I would have expected Colombo to be fast-tracked and trying to go ahead of Sozza, but we will see.
The referee from Como will certainly get a strong push, and it remains to be seen what he can reach.
As possible assignments for the finals, I think Guida is a name for closing his career with maybe Europa League, while the same target for me for Mariani, who is nevertheless still far away from the CL final standard, despite of a WC in which he got an excellent Brazil - Japan as last game.
While for me, Massa could get Conference League final.
Then, everything can change of course.
Chefren.
DeleteHow did Mariani officiate the Juventus - Milan match yesterday? After that extremely poor Lyon-Fener match, I don't think he'll get any European matches for a long time
Learning from the post-match Fight of the Lyon-Fenerbache match, referee Mariani and his team waited on the pitch after the end of Juventus-AC Milan match until both teams entered their dressing rooms to prevent any incidents. I think this was discussed in last week's UEFA seminar.
DeleteIt wasn't a match to remember, extremely poor level of football in first half, slightly better second half, but overall it certainly wasn't a game that warranted that kind of intensity.
DeleteThat said, Mariani performed as usual.
The end was a bit heated, just as mentioned above.
In this case, he stayed until the end and tried to keep everything under control. Not much of a test, really.
There's talk of a possible foul prior to Milan's goal, but in my view, the decision is supportable, could have whistled foul but rahter soft.
And when 2 games are still missing (to be played today) for the end of Matchday 3, still no penalties and no VAR interventions in serie A.
That is incredible if we look back at Rocchi's management.
And how do Spanish referees stand in the UEFA hierarchy?
DeleteThe three Elite referees are getting closer to retirement.
I don't see Burgos as the next step up to the Elite level.
And finally, there is Alberola Rojas, who is gaining ground.
Let's see what the future holds.
I notice that Jablonski is highly regarded by UEFA. I’m not sure if there will be a shift in the hierarchy among the referees, but it’s been a great start to the season for him.
ReplyDeleteAs for Balakin, he hasn't refereed a single match in the Ukrainian league, yet he's being assigned to Champions League group-stage games!
Massa has the best match on paper, but given his performances in recent years, I predict he will face major difficulties in managing the game.
Eskås has the toughest match to handle.
Nice joke by Rossetti to appoint ukrainian referee for PSG, where russian GK Safonov is the first-choice goalkeeper... no comments
ReplyDeleteThat's a ridiculous argument, because there are Ukrainian players in the PSG squad.
DeleteOkay, let’s see their handshake on Wednesday
DeleteHas already been confirmed in turkey that meler will officiate psv shaktar. https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com/halil-umut-melere-sampiyonlar-ligi-gorevi-1068730h.htm
ReplyDeleteI wrote this 2 days ago, but my comment got deleted. 😁
DeleteReality check for the Italian referee Massa, Eskas and Nyberg with usual UCL games ( expected appointments)
ReplyDeleteAnd the German Jablonski with perfect match to prove his worth at the New Camp
Jablonski continues his upward trend. Really pleased for Minakovic who I have reviewed positively previously. Balakin with a good appointment. The Italian lottery of UCL referees continues and the duo of Eskas and Nyberg with expected appointments
ReplyDeleteCL debut for Eskas' assistant Rossland. Big appointment.
ReplyDeleteMichael Oliver will officiate Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
ReplyDelete4 games in 4 weekends for him in the PL so far. Not surprising though since the top English referees typically do more league games per season than referees from Spain/Italy etc.
DeleteJablonski: after the playoff match he refereed, big things are expected from his path. Barcelona - Feyenoord seems like a good starting point, one might have even predicted a higher profile match, but if he performs well, he will get it a big match in future.
ReplyDeleteBalakin: he is coming somewhat out of nowhere in terms of Champions League appearances, but he is given his opportunity with this home match for PSG. Let's see how the committee wants to handle the Ukrainian, in my view, they haven't prepared a proper development plan for him yet, and his appointments have been rather sporadic.
Massa: a big match in league phase for the Italian referee is always a good thing but it would be interesting to understand more about his real reputation. It's hard. My idea is that committee gives such games to him just because Italian Elite. Of course that's what many of you say, but I mean, they don't see him for something more on latter stages.
Eskås: it can be a very challenging game for him. Some people reporting that he has too many OFRs in his games, despite of showing rather quite good performances. That's true, and now I was just thinking, maybe this can be the argument for which he didn't get a reward on last season in the latter stages of CL? The best way to solve the hypotetical problem is to show a clean performance, but maybe that's not the game that can help in this regard. A real test, based on how both teams play, especially the Turkish side. This season the Norwegian should fight to get a final.
Nyberg: a nice one in Naples. The Swedish referee had a very good WC and now he can continue in this way. In past, his UEFA perfromances were rather good but very rarely excellent. It is about fine-tuning.
Minaković: a starting point, not a arrival point: let's see how things progress for the Serbian referee.
What is your referee prediction for the Champions League matches on Thursday?
Delete