Barcelona v PSG – Referee appointed for the big clash, his stats | OneFootball

On Wednesday, September 31, as part of the second matchday of the 2025-2026 Champions League group stage, Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) will face FC Barcelona (12th) at the Montjuïc Stadium (kick-off at 9 p.m., broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been selected: it will be Michael Oliver (40 years old), who has significant experience in the Champions League, with 40 matches officiated.

The man with the whistle will be assisted by Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring. The role of fourth official will be filled by Andrew Madley. And video assistance will be provided by Jarred Gillet and Bastian Dankert.

Yellow cards –

With Mr. Oliver as referee, we can expect yellow cards to be handed out quickly during the match. In fact, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), Wednesday's referee has given an average of 4.48 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (according to Transfermarkt). That’s high, so let’s hope this comes with dialogue and leads to a match without tension.

Straight red cards –

The man with the whistle for this match is much less strict when it comes to straight red cards. Indeed, Oliver averages 0.05 dismissals per match in his career, while the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). Clearly, he is not one to hand out punishments indiscriminately.

Second yellow cards –

Michael Oliver is more likely to send off a player after a first yellow card in a match, as he has given a second caution to the same player an average of 0.13 times per match. This is higher than the French average, which stands at 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). With many yellows at first, this supports the idea of warnings to calm things down, but he is not afraid to give a red if necessary.

Penalties –

As for penalties, the man who will officiate this clash is below the average, with 0.30 penalties awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).

History –

Oliver has refereed PSG 5 times: 1-1 against Benfica in the 2022/2023 group stage, a 0-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2022/2023 round of 16, a 1-2 win against Real Sociedad in the 2023/2024 round of 16, a 0-3 win against RB Salzburg in the 2024/2025 group stage, and a 7-0 win against Brest in the 2024/2025 playoff.

4 times for Barça: 0-0 against Slavia Prague in the 2019/2020 group stage, a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the 2020/2021 group stage, a 0-3 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2021/2022 group stage, and finally a 2-2 draw against Atalanta in the 2024/2025 group stage.

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