PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

The referees for the final two matches of the Last 16 first round tie are Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) and Howard Webb (England).

Velasco Carballo will referee Galatasaray v. Chelsea, and Webb will take Schalke v. Real Madrid. Both matches will be played Wednesday, February 26.

Now, I love me some Howard Webb. I do. But he has been in shocking form the past 6-8 weeks in the Premier League. Even former referee Mark Halsey claims he’s spending too much time giving speeches and not enough time on his game. He’s made several crucial calls that many view as mistakes and that have cost teams dearly.

He is a World Cup referee, though, and it would be hard for UEFA to leave him out of Champions League; no doubt these big matches are considered a “tune up” for Brazil, so to speak. But still, it seems a shame considering his form that he gets a match this big, and the excellent Mark Clattenburg sits the bench. Again.

Howard needs a good game, and I’ll have my fingers crossed that he has it.