PSG v Slovan Bratislava, Ukrainian ref new to Champions League | OneFootball

On Wednesday, September 9, during Matchday 1 of the 2026-2027 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain will face Slovan Bratislava at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9pm, broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been appointed: it will be Mykola Balakin (37). He has very limited Champions League experience, with only 4 matches to his name.

The man with the whistle will be assisted by Oleksandr Berkut and Viktor Matyash. As for the role of fourth official, it will be filled by Dmytro Panchyshyn. And video assistance will be handled by Michael Salisbury and Matej Jug.

Yellow cards –

With Mr. Balakin in charge, we can expect yellow cards to be handed out rather sparingly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), the referee for this opening matchday has handed out 2.25 yellow cards per match on average across his entire Champions League career (figures from Transfermarkt). That is very low, so let’s hope it still comes while protecting the players. The fact that he has so few matches under his belt does not help in drawing firm conclusions.

Direct red cards –

The referee for this match is not strict when it comes to direct red cards. Indeed, Balakin has 0 dismissals in his Champions League career, while the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). Once again, with so few matches, he has had few opportunities.

Second yellow cards –

Mykola Balakin is not in the habit of sending off a player after a second yellow in a match, since he has not yet given a second booking to the same player in the Champions League. The French average stands at 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03), so this is not much of a surprise either with only 4 matches refereed and few yellow cards to begin with.

Penalties –

As for penalties, the man who will officiate this match is below the usual level in France, with 0.25 penalties awarded per match, whereas in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).

History –

This referee has not encountered PSG or Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League across his 4 matches.

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