PSG v Atalanta: Referee appointed for Champions League opener! | OneFootball

On Wednesday, September 17, as part of the first matchday of the Champions League 2025-2026 group stage, Paris Saint-Germain will face Atalanta at Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9pm, broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been chosen, it will be Sandro Schärer (37 years old). He has interesting experience in the Champions League, with 16 matches under his belt.

The man with the whistle will be assisted by Stéphane De Almeida and Jonas Emi. As for the role of the 4th official, it will be occupied by Lionel Tschudi. And video assistance will be provided by Bastian Dankert and Fedayi San.

Yellow Cards –

With Mr. Schärer at the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to come out relatively quickly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), the referee for Wednesday has given 3.75 yellows per match on average throughout his Champions League career (figures Transfermarkt). This is quite high, but we can hope for some measure and dialogue.

Direct Red Cards –

The man with the whistle on Wednesday is also a little strict when it comes to direct red cards. Indeed, Schärer is at 0.18 dismissals per match in his career while the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). This goes with the idea of some management, rather than sanctioning at all costs, but without being afraid to crack down.

Second Yellow Cards –

Especially since Sandro Schärer has never sent off a player after his first yellow card in the Champions League. While the French average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03) per match. With a lot of yellows at first, this reinforces the idea of the warning to calm spirits while managing the match well.

Penalties –

As for penalties, the man who will referee this match is much lower than the average with 0.25 penalty awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).

History –

Schärer has refereed PSG once: a 1-1 draw against Bruges in September 2021 with 4 yellow cards.

This will be the first time with Atalanta.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.