Ref behind Rui Borges' worst Champions loss gets Sporting-Galatasaray | OneFootball

Espen Eskas, a referee remembered unfavourably by Sporting, has been chosen by UEFA to officiate the match against Galatasaray in the opening round of the Champions League league phase. The Norwegian has already refereed the Lions once, specifically in the 3-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at Alvalade, in the first leg of the Champions playoff in February 2025, Rui Borges’ biggest defeat in the competition in his career, alongside the loss to Bodo Glimt (3-0 in the first leg of the round of 16).

The 38-year-old official now crosses paths again with the Alvalade club in a match scheduled for Wednesday at 8:00 pm at the José Alvalade Stadium. He will be joined by fellow Norwegians Jan Erik Engan and Alf Olav Rossland, while Sigurd Kringstad will serve as fourth official. Germany’s Christian Dingert will be on VAR, with Belgium’s Bram Van Driessche as AVAR.

The appointment draws even more attention because of the recent World Cup, where he was involved in one of Portugal’s most controversial matches. Eskas was in charge of the clash with Croatia in the round of 32, which ended in a 2-1 Portuguese win in Toronto. Deep into stoppage time, he disallowed a goal by Josko Gvardiol after ball technology detected a slight touch from Igor Matanovic that left the defender offside.

The decision sparked a strong reaction from the Croatian Football Federation, which filed a formal complaint with FIFA. The body challenged both the VAR intervention in a penalty awarded to Portugal and the use of the ball sensor in the Gvardiol incident, arguing that the technology had been applied improperly and requesting clarification over the decisions made during the match.

Eskas has also already officiated a Braga match. The Norwegian referee was in charge of the Minho side’s 2-0 win over Red Star in October 2025, in the Europa League league phase. Now, he will once again face Sporting, who are looking to start Europe’s top competition with a positive result.

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