UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 – Round of 16 (Second Leg)

17 March 2026

Sporting CP – Bodo Glimt
Referee: Sandro Schärer SUI (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jonas Erni SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Susanne Küng SUI
Fourth Official: Lukas Fähndrich SUI
VAR: Fedayi San SUI
AVAR: Andrew Dallas SCO
Referee Observer: Stefan Messner AUT

Chelsea FC – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: David Šmajc SVN
VAR: Christian Dingert GER
AVAR: Robert Schröder GER
Referee Observer: Stavros Tritsonis GRE

Manchester City – Real Madrid
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: Willy Delajod FRA
VAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Bastien Dechepy FRA
Referee Observer: Edgar Steinborn GER

Arsenal FC – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout NED
VAR: Dennis Higler NED
AVAR: Pol van Boekel NED
Referee Observer: Lucílio Batista POR

18 March 2026
FC Barcelona – Newcastle United
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard FRA
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Referee Observer: Frank De Bleeckere BEL

Liverpool FC – Galatasaray
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Paweł Raczkowski POL
VAR: Marco Di Bello ITA
AVAR: Daniele Chiffi ITA
Referee Observer: Marián Ružbarský SVK

Bayern Munchen – Atalanta BC
Referee: Benoît Bastien FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Hicham Zakrani FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Aurélien Berthomieu FRA
Fourth Official: Mathieu Vernice FRA
VAR: Bastien Dechepy FRA
AVAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili GEO

Tottenham Hotspur – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager GER
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Sören Storks GER
Referee Observer: Jan Wegereef NED

AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 – Semi-finals

17 March 2026

China – Australia
Referee: Supiree Testhomya THA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hinthong Supawan THA
Assistant Referee 2: Nuannid Donjangreed THA
Fourth Official: Doumouh Albakkar LBN
Reserve AR: Park Mi-Suk KOR
VAR: Sivakorn Pu-Udom THA
AVAR: Meshari Al-Shamari QAT
Referee Assessor: Thein Aye MYA

18 March 2026
Korea – Japan
Referee: Veronika Bernatskaia KGZ
Assistant Referee 1: Heba Saadieh PLE
Assistant Referee 2: Ha Thi Phuong VIE
Fourth Official: Lara Lee AUS
Reserve AR: Xie Lijun CHN
VAR: Muhammad Bin Jahari SIN
AVAR: Mamdouh Al-Shadan KSA
Referee Assessor: Widiya Shamsuri MAS

UEFA Youth League 2025/2026 – Quarter-finals

17 March 2026 

Atletico de Madrid – Club Brugge
Referee: Patrik Kolarić CRO (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Luka Pajić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Starčević CRO
Fourth Official: Álvaro Rodríguez Recio ESP

Villarreal CF – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Florian Badstübner GER
Assistant Referee 1: Sven Waschitzki GER
Assistant Referee 2: Tobias Fritsch GER
Fourth Official: Borja Guijarro Colomer ESP

18 March 2026
Real Madrid – Sporting CP
Referee: Lothar D’Hondt BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Romain Devillers BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Nico Claes BEL
Fourth Official: Luis Morona Del Campo ESP

Inter Milano – SL Benfica
Referee: Oleksii Derevinskyi UKR
Assistant Referee 1: Oleksii Myronov UKR
Assistant Referee 2: Svitlana Grushko UKR
Fourth Official: Gianluca Manganiello ITA

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers – Play-off Tournament (Semi-finals)

Mexico, 26 March 2026

Bolivia – Suriname
Referee: Alireza Faghani AUS (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis AUS
Assistant Referee 2: James Lindsay AUS
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
VAR: Fedayi San SUI
AVAR: Ivan Bebek CRO

New Caledonia – Jamaica
Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Carlos Barreiro URU
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay CHI
VAR: Juan Lara CHI
AVAR: Antonio Garcia URU

CAF Confederation Cup 2025/2026 – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

15 March 2026

Al Masry – CR Belouizdad
Referee: Jean Ndala COD (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Guylain Ngila COD
Assistant Referee 2: Gradel Mbilizi COD
Fourth Official: Alhadji Mahamat CHA
VAR: Dahane Beida MTN
AVAR: Carine Atezambong CMR

AS Otoho – Zamalek
Referee: Clement Kpan CIV
Assistant Referee 1: Adou Ngoh CIV
Assistant Referee 2: Eba Ettien CIV
Fourth Official: Aklesso Gnama TOG
VAR: Hamza El Fariq MAR
AVAR: Maria Rivet MRI

Maniema Union – USM Alger
Referee: Louis Houngnandande BEN
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Ayimavo BEN
Assistant Referee 2: Lucien Hontonnou BEN

Olympic Safi – Wydad AC
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf EGY
Assistant Referee 1: Mahmoud El-Regal EGY
Assistant Referee 2: Ahmed Hossam EGY
Fourth Official: Amin Omar EGY
VAR: Mahmoud Ashour EGY
AVAR: Hossam Haggag EGY

CAF Champions League 2025/2026 – Quarter-finals (First Leg)

13-15 March 2026

AS FAR – Pyramids
Referee: Omar Artan SOM (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Liban Abdulrazak DJI
Assistant Referee 2: Mohamed Ibrahim SDN
Fourth Official: Mahmood Ismail SDN
VAR: Daniel Laryea GHA
AVAR: Ahmed Shalmani LYB

Mamelodi Sundowns – Stade Malien
Referee: Pierre Atcho GAB
Assistant Referee 1: Boris Ditsoga GAB
Assistant Referee 2: Amos Abeigne GAB

 
RS Berkane – Al Hilal
Referee: Abongile Tom RSA
Assistant Referee 1: Zakhele Siwela RSA
Assistant Referee 2: Souru Phatsoane LES
Fourth Official: Jelly Chavani RSA

Esperance de Tunis – Al Ahly
Referee: Issa Sy SEN
Assistant Referee 1: Djibril Camara SEN
Assistant Referee 2: Nouha Bangoura SEN
Fourth Official: Adalbert Diouf SEN
VAR: Ahmad Heeralall MRI
AVAR: Jerson Dos Santos ANG

AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 – Quarter-finals

13 March 2026

Australia – Korea DPR
Referee: Veronika Bernatskaia KGZ (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Heba Saadieh PLE
Assistant Referee 2: Hinthong Supawan THA
Fourth Official: Doumouh Albakkar LBN
Reserve AR: Makoto Bozono JPN
VAR: Muhammad Bin Jahari SIN
AVAR: Meshari Al-Shamari QAT
Referee Assessor: Thein Aye MYA

14 March 2026
China – Chinese Taipei
Referee: Oh Hyeon-Jeong KOR
Assistant Referee 1: Park Mi-Suk KOR
Assistant Referee 2: Lee Soo-Bin KOR
Fourth Official: Asaka Koizumi JPN
Reserve AR: Chihiro Ikki JPN
VAR: Sivakorn Pu-Udom THA
AVAR: Mamdouh Al-Shadan KSA
Referee Assessor: Thein Aye MYA

Korea – Uzbekistan
Referee: Lara Lee AUS
Assistant Referee 1: Emma Kocbek AUS
Assistant Referee 2: Madelaine Allum AUS
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt AUS
Reserve AR: Ha Thi Phuong VIE
VAR: Katherine Jacewicz AUS
AVAR: Muhammad Bin Jahari SIN
Referee Assessor: Niu Huijun CHN

15 March 2026
Japan – Philippines
Referee: Dong Fangyu CHN
Assistant Referee 1: Xie Lijun CHN
Assistant Referee 2: Bao Mengxiao CHN
Fourth Official: Supiree Testhomya THA
Reserve AR: Nuannid Donjangreed THA
VAR: Fu Ming CHN
AVAR: Law Bik Chi HKG
Referee Assessor: Widiya Shamsuri MAS

UEFA Europa Conference League 2025/26 – Round of 16 (First Leg)

12 March 2026

Samsunspor – Rayo Vallecano
Referee: Marian Barbu ROU (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mircea Grigoriu ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Adrian Vornicu ROU
Fourth Official: Sebastian Colţescu ROU
VAR: Cătălin Popa ROU
AVAR: Marcel Birsan ROU
Referee Observer: Cyril Zimmermann SUI

Lech Poznan – Shakhtar Donetsk
Referee: Rohit Saggi NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Anders Dale NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Jorgen Valstadsve NOR
Fourth Official: Daniel Higraff NOR
VAR: Kristoffer Hagenes NOR
AVAR: Marius Lien NOR
Referee Observer: Costas Kapitanis CYP

AZ Alkmaar – Sparta Praha
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Santino Schreiner AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Roland Brandner AUT
Fourth Official: Walter Altmann AUT
VAR: Manuel Schuettengruber AUT
AVAR: Alan Kijas AUT
Referee Observer: Paolo Valeri ITA

HNK Rijeka – RC Strasbourg
Referee: Vassilis Fotias GRE
Assistant Referee 1: Andreas Meintanas GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Michail Papadakis GRE
Fourth Official: Alexandros Tsakalidis GRE
VAR: Angelos Evangelou GRE
AVAR: Athanasios Tzilos GRE
Referee Observer: Stefan Johannesson SWE

Crystal Palace – AEK Larnaka
Referee: Igor Pajač CRO
Assistant Referee 1: Bojan Zobenica CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Ivan Mihalj CRO
Fourth Official: Dario Bel CRO
VAR: Ivan Bebek CRO
AVAR: Fran Jović CRO
Referee Observer: Leslie Irvine NIR

AC Fiorentina – Rakow Czestochowa
Referee: Georgi Kabakov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Martin Margaritov BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Venev BUL
Fourth Official: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
VAR: Dragomir Draganov BUL
AVAR: Nikola Popov BUL
Referee Observer: Carlos Clos Gómez ESP

NK Celje – AEK Athens
Referee: Luis Godinho POR
Assistant Referee 1: Rui Teixeira POR
Assistant Referee 2: Pedro Martins POR
Fourth Official: Fabio Verissimo POR
VAR: André Narciso POR
AVAR: Bruno Esteves POR
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX

Sigma Olomouc – FSV Mainz
Referee: Mohammad Al-Emara FIN
Assistant Referee 1: Turkka Valjakka FIN
Assistant Referee 2: Mika Lamppu FIN
Fourth Official: Peiman Simani FIN
VAR: Pawel Malec POL
AVAR: Kornel Paszkiewicz POL
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras GRE

UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 – Round of 16 (First Leg)

12 March 2026

Panathinaikos – Real Betis
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Pawel Raczkowski POL
VAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
AVAR: Matthew Donohue ENG
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB

Bologna FC – AS Roma
Referee: Sven Jablonski GER
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Lasse Koslowski GER
Fourth Official: Harm Osmers GER
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Robert Schröder GER
Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR

VfB Stuttgart – FC Porto
Referee: Donatas Rumšas LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Aleksandr Radiuš LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Dovydas Sužiedėlis LTU
Fourth Official: Manfredas Lukjančukas LTU
VAR: Dennis Higler NED
AVAR: Pol van Boekel NED
Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas SCO

LOSC Lille – Aston Villa
Referee: José Sánchez Martinez ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martinez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Iñigo Prieto Lopez ESP
Fourth Official: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz ESP
VAR: César Soto Grado ESP
AVAR: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Referee Observer: Vladimir Antonov MDA

Ferencvarosi TC – SC Braga
Referee: Nicholas Walsh SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel McFarlane SCO
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson SCO
VAR: Darren England ENG
AVAR: Kevin Clancy SCO
Referee Observer: Cüneyt Çakir TUR

KRC Genk – SC Freiburg
Referee: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Daniel Cook ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Ian Hussin ENG
Fourth Official: Samuel Barrott ENG
VAR: Stuart Attwell ENG
AVAR: Peter Bankes ENG
Referee Observer: Vítor Melo Pereira POR

Celta de Vigo – Olympique Lyonnais
Referee: Erik Lambrechts BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Jo de Weirdt BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Monteny BEL
Fourth Official: Nathan Verboomen BEL
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Jan Boterberg BEL
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav BIH

Nottingham Forrest – FC Midtjylland
Referee: Rade Obrenović SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Grega Kordež SVN
Fourth Official: Martin Matoša SVN
VAR: Matej Jug SVN
AVAR: Rob Dieperink NED
Referee Observer: Luis Medina Cantalejo ESP

Masked fan pulls the plug on VAR in bizarre sabotage

A masked fan unplugged a VAR monitor during a German second division match on ​Sunday in an audacious act of sabotage ‌that left the referee looking at a blank screen when he was called to review a potential penalty. The ​bizarre incident unfolded during the Bundesliga 2 ​clash between Preussen Muenster and visiting Hertha ⁠Berlin, when referee Felix Bickel was summoned ​to the pitch side monitor only to discover that ​someone had yanked out the power plug.

According to Muenster's website, a masked supporter had infiltrated the interior area and ​unplugged the VAR monitor, sabotaging the review ​process. German media reported that at the same time, home ‌fans ⁠displayed a banner reading "Pull the plug on VAR". With Bickel unable to view the replay, VAR official Katrin Rafalski in Cologne was forced to make ​the decision ​remotely, ruling ⁠the challenge was indeed a foul, prompting Bickel to award the penalty, ​which Hertha duly converted. The Berlin side ​eventually ⁠won the match 2–1 with a stoppage-time goal. Muenster later said the incident appeared to have been ⁠a ​planned action and that the ​club would do everything in its power to identify those responsible.

Source: Reuters