Felix Zwayer to referee UEFA Champions League clash between Manchester City and Napoli in League Phase | OneFootball

UEFA have confirmed a German team of match officials will oversee proceedings at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night for matchday one of the Champions League’s league phase.

Manchester City begin their latest European adventure with a home clash against the Italian champions, hoping to bring back the Champions League title to the north-west of England after their 2023 triumph in Istanbul.

The last venture into continental action saw Pep Guardiola’s side exit prior to the last-16 phase as a club for the first time since 2012, crashing out via Real Madrid in a play-off tie off the back of a disappointing league phase.

With their maiden look at the reformatted version of the UEFA Champions League now under their belt, Pep Guardiola may now be better prepared to handle the competition and guide his side into the automatic qualification places for the knockout round.

The first of eight clashes across Europe this season sees Manchester City take on Kevin De Bruyne and Napoli, just weeks after bidding farewell to the legendary Belgian playmaker after a staggering period of service at the Etihad Stadium.

Now, ahead of the meeting between Manchester City and Napoli this week, UEFA have announced the complete list of match officials to oversee proceedings at the Etihad Stadium!

Match Referee

As Manchester City gear up to kick-off their UEFA Champions League adventure for the 2025/26 season, UEFA have confirmed German match official Felix Zwayer as the on-field referee for the clash with Napoli.

The 44-year-old is perhaps somewhat most known for events in 2005, when Zwayer was involved in a match fixing scandal around 2. Bundesliga referee Robert Hoyzer, who took bribes to fix several matches in which he officiated.

In January 2005, he and three other high-ranking referees informed the DFB about Hoyzer’s match fixing, and he was subsequently banned for six months – a suspension kept secret for several years until German newspaper Die Zeit published a secret file from the German FA.

This will be the first time that Felix Zwayer has officiated Manchester City in his professional career, while Thursday night will mark his fourth contest of the brand new season having appeared twice in the Bundesliga and once in Champions League qualifying.

In those outings, Zwayer has issued a total of 16 yellow cards, two red cards, and awarded one penalty.

Assistant Referees

Accompanying Felix Zwayer from the field at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night will be fellow German match officials in Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, appointed to the match as assistant referees.

Video Assistant Referees

Overseeing proceedings between Manchester City and Napoli away from the pitch will be the contest’s Video Assistant Referee, Christian Dingert and the game’s Assistant Video Assistant Referee, Bastian Dankert – both from Germany.

Fourth Official

Standing between Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte in their respective Manchester City and Napoli dugouts will be Germany’s Florian Badstübner, appointed as fourth official for the match.