Monaco v PSG: Referee appointed for Champions League play-off first leg | OneFootball

On Tuesday, February 17, in the first leg (return on Wednesday, February 25) of the 2025-2026 Champions League playoffs, Paris Saint-Germain (2nd in Ligue 1) will face AS Monaco at Stade Louis II (kick-off at 9 PM, broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been chosen, it will be Jesus Gil Manzano (42 years old). He has a rather interesting experience without being a great veteran in the Champions League, with 30 matches under his belt.

The man with the whistle will be assisted by Angel Nevado and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso. As for the role of the 4th official, it will be occupied by Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez. And video assistance will be provided by Carlos del Cerro Grande and Valentin Gomez.

Yellow Cards –

With Mr. Gil Manzano at the whistle, one can expect yellow cards to be given relatively normally during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), the referee of the first leg has given an average of 3.70 yellow cards per match throughout his career in the Champions League (figures from Transfermarkt). This is rather low in the European competition, hopefully, it will be with good player protection and dialogue.

Direct Red Cards –

The man with the whistle this Tuesday is much less severe when it comes to direct red cards. Indeed, Gil Manzano has an average of 0.07 exclusions per match in his career, while the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). This aligns with the idea of management rather than sanction.

Second Yellow Cards –

Istvan Kovacs is not in the habit of excluding a player after their first yellow card in a match, as he has not yet done so in this competition. The French average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). With many yellows initially, this supports the idea of warning to calm spirits.

Penalties –

As for penalties, the man who will officiate the match this Tuesday is above average with 0.40 penalties awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).

History –

Gil Manzano has refereed PSG 5 times: 4-1 victory against Bruges (group stage 2021-2022), 1-1 draw against Benfica (group stage 2022-2023), 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund (group stage 2023-2024), 2-1 defeat against AC Milan (group stage 2023-2024), 2-7 victory against Bayer Leverkusen (league phase 2025-2026), with a red card for Ilya Zabarnyi (23-year-old PSG defender) and another on the German side.

1 time for AS Monaco: 2-2 draw against Manchester City (league phase 2025-2026).

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