UEFA have confirmed the refereeing team for Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg match against Atletico Madrid, coming up on Tuesday.
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UEFA have confirmed on their website that Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg match against Atletico Madrid will be refereed by an all-German officiating team.
Daniel Siebert will be the referee on the night, assisted by Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn, with Tobias Stieler as the fourth official.
Then Bastian Dankert will be on VAR, with Robert Schroder as the assistant VAR to complete the team of officials.
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Siebert has refereed both teams on three previous occasions, with Arsenal having the better of the results so far.
Atletico lost to Liverpool, drew with Manchester City, and lost to Tottenham Hotspur during Siebert’s three matches officiating them, with the ref showing Antoine Griezmann a red card in the Liverpool game and awarding a penalty to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Siebert also gave Spurs a penalty in their 3-2 win in March, but it’s worth remembering that Spurs’ win on the night was actually a defeat on aggregate.
As for Arsenal, Siebert refereed the Gunners’ 3-1 Europa League knockout win over Olympiacos, the 3-0 Champions League group stage win over GNK Dinamo, and the 1-0 quarter-final win over Sporting in April. But he didn’t award any penalties or red cards in those matches.
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Arsenal fans will just be hoping for fair officiating this week, having seen David Hancko inexplicably avoid a red card for a last-man foul in the first leg, before having Eberechi Eze’s penalty overturned for no good reason.
But it’s always good to have some positive omens ahead of a big game, and Siebert’s record refereeing the two clubs is a good sign on that front.
