Who is François Letexier, the referee for the Benfica vs Real Madrid match?

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·15 février 2026

Who is François Letexier, the referee for the Benfica vs Real Madrid match?

François Letexier to officiate Benfica vs Real Madrid

François Letexier / @xx.com/ActuFoutreOff

Vidéos OneFootball

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has appointed French referee François Letexier to take charge of the match between Benfica and Real Madrid, which serves as the first leg of the Champions League playoff round for a spot in the Round of 16.

The match will be played on Tuesday night at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, kicking off at 20:00 GMT.

This clash comes as part of the playoff phase after the Madrid side failed to secure direct qualification from the group stage, following a 4-2 defeat on the final day at the hands of the team managed by Portuguese coach José Mourinho.

Benfica, Luz’da 2 yıldır 6 maç ve üzeri galibiyet serisi yakalayamamıştı. ✅ 2-1 vs. Alverca ✅ 4-2 vs. Real Madrid ✅ 4-0 vs. Estrela ✅ 3-1 vs. Estoril ✅ 1-0 vs. Famalicao ✅ 2-0 vs. Napoli
– lundi 9 février 2026

Who is François Letexier?

François Letexier is a French international referee, born on April 23, 1989.
He has been a FIFA referee since 2017 and is part of UEFA's elite group of referees.
During the 2025-2026 season, he has officiated 20 matches across all competitions, both domestically and in Europe.
This season in the Champions League, he has refereed seven matches, including Atlético Madrid vs Inter Milan, Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal vs Olympiakos, and Liverpool vs Eintracht Frankfurt.
In terms of discipline, the French official has handed out 88 yellow cards, averaging 4.4 bookings per match, along with six red cards.
He has also whistled for 461 fouls, averaging around 23 fouls per game.

Letexier's track record with Real Madrid

Letexier has already overseen five Real Madrid matches in the Champions League, with the following results:

Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal (2024-2025 quarter-final, second leg)
Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid (Matchday 5, 2024-2025 league phase)
Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City (2023-2024 quarter-final, first leg)
Real Madrid 4-2 Napoli (Matchday 5, 2023-2024 group stage)

El francés François Letexier arbitrará el @SLBenfica @realmadrid Sera la sexta vez: 2V 1E 2D RM 1-2 Arsenal (1/4 24/25 Liverp 2-0 RM (F.L 24/25) RM 3-3 https://t.co/BjvoTYvrXK (1/4 23/24) RM 4-2 Nápoli (F.G 23/24) RM 2-0Chelsea(1/4 22/23)
– dimanche 15 février 2026