Well, well. It seems that the four upcoming Champions League matches this week (February 18 and 19) are a showcase for the Gods of Refereeing. You can’t get much better than this week’s choices. On Tuesday, there’s Jonas Eriksson of Sweden and Viktor Kassai of Hungary, both consistently excellent referees. On Wednesday, you have: Yes, that’s right, Mr. Smooth is
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Here are the referees for the first two matches of the Last 16 round of Champions League. These matches will be played Tuesday, February 18. So Jonas Eriksson (above) takes Manchester City v. Barcelona. Eriksson is actually one of my favorites. The Big Swede is always very calm and in command at the same time…the kind of guy you want on your side
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It feels like forever, but it’s finally time for Champions League football again! This seems like a good time to talk about how the referees are chosen by UEFA not only for Champions League, but for Europa League, as well. First of all, just like the clubs want to get into the Champions League, the top referees really want these appointments.
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Big note is that Nicola Rizzoli is nowhere amongst the appointments, meaning he is almost certainly refereeing one of this week’s upcoming Last 16 Champions League matches, held Tuesday and Wednesday, February 18 and 19. His two assistant referees, Stefani and Faverani, are listed this weekend, but only as fourth officials. The referees for the Champions League matches are not announced until two
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