UEFA Europa Conference League 2025/26 – KO Stage, Play-Offs (First Leg)

19 February 2026

KUPS Kuopio – Lech Poznan
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev AZE (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Zeynal Zeynalov AZE
Assistant Referee 2: Akif Amirali AZE
Fourth Official: Elchin Masiyev AZE
VAR: Stuart Attwell ENG
AVAR: Nicat Ismayilli AZE
Referee Observer: Kristinn Jakobsson ISL

Noa FA – AZ Alkmaar
Referee: Orel Grinfeeld ISR
Assistant Referee 1: Roy Hassan ISR
Assistant Referee 2: Idan Yarkoni ISR
Fourth Official: Gal Leibovitz ISR
VAR: Daniel Natan ISR
AVAR: Eitan Shmuelevitz ISR
Referee Observer: Levan Paniashvili GEO

Zrinjski Mostar – Crystal Palace
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas LTU
Assistant Referee 1: Mangirdas Mirauskas LTU
Assistant Referee 2: Aleksandras Stepanovas LTU
Fourth Official: Mindaugas Jackus LTU
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
AVAR: Donatas Šimenas LTU
Referee Observer: Michael Koukoulakis GRE

Sigma Olomouc – Lausanne Sport
Referee: Sander van der Eijk NED
Assistant Referee 1: Rens Bluemink NED
Assistant Referee 2: Stefan de Groot NED
Fourth Official: Marc Nagtegaal NED
VAR: Clay Ruperti NED
AVAR: Erwin Blank NED
Referee Observer: Antonio Damato ITA

Jagiellonia Bialystok – AC Fiorentina
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer AUT
Assistant Referee 1: Roland Riedel AUT
Assistant Referee 2: Santino Schreiner AUT
Fourth Official: Walter Altmann AUT
VAR: Manuel Schuettengruber AUT
AVAR: Josef Spurny AUT
Referee Observer: Ognjen Valjić BIH

KF Shkendija – Samsunspor
Referee: Rohit Saggi NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Anders Olav Dale NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Jorgen Valstadsve NOR
Fourth Official: Daniel Higraff NOR
VAR: Kristoffer Hagenes NOR
AVAR: Marius Lien NOR
Referee Observer: Sergejus Slyva LTU

FC Drita – NK Celje
Referee: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Simon Bennett ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Neil Davies ENG
Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall ENG
VAR: Darren England ENG
AVAR: Peter Bankes ENG
Referee Observer: Domagoj Vučkov CRO

Omonia Nicosia – HNK Rijeka
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja ALB
Assistant Referee 1: Arber Zalla ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Rejdi Avdo ALB
Fourth Official: Olsion Yzeiraj ALB
VAR: Gianluca Aureliano ITA
AVAR: Kreshnik Barjamaj ALB
Referee Observer: Andrejs Sipailo LVA

UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 – KO Stage, Play-Offs (First Leg)

19 February 2026

Fenerbahce – Nottingham Forest
Referee: Sandro Schärer SUI (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Jonas Erni SUI
Fourth Official: Anojen Kanagasingam SUI
VAR: Lukas Fähndrich SUI
AVAR: Luca Cibelli SUI
Referee Observer: René Temmink NED

GNK Dinamo – KRC Genk
Referee: Halil Meler TUR
Assistant Referee 1: Abdullah Özkara TUR
Assistant Referee 2: Ibrahim Uyarcan TUR
Fourth Official: Cihan Aydin TUR
VAR: Fedayi San SUI
AVAR: Onur Özütoprak TUR
Referee Observer: William Collum SCO

PAOK FC – Celta de Vigo
Referee: Ivan Kružliak SVK
Assistant Referee 1: Branislav Hancko SVK
Assistant Referee 2: Jan Pozor SVK
Fourth Official: Michal Očenáš SVK
VAR: Pawel Malec POL
AVAR: Piotr Lasyk POL
Referee Observer: Michael Johansen DEN

SK Brann – Bologna FC
Referee: Rade Obrenovič SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Fourth Official: Martin Matoša SVN
VAR: Alen Borošak SVN
AVAR: Asmir Sagrković SVN
Referee Observer: Neale Barry ENG

PFK Ludogorets – Ferencvarosi TC
Referee: Tobias Stieler GER
Assistant Referee 1: Lasse Koslowski GER
Assistant Referee 2: Mark Borsch GER
Fourth Official: Matthias Jöllenbeck GER
VAR: Sören Storks GER
AVAR: Johann Pfeifer GER
Referee Observer: Boško Jovanetić SRB

Panathinaikos FC – Viktoria Plzen
Referee: Nicholas Walsh SCO
Assistant Referee 1: Francis Connor SCO
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel McFarlane SCO
Fourth Official: Donald Robertson SCO
VAR: Andrew Dallas SCO
AVAR: Kevin Clancy SCO
Referee Observer: Aleksei Kulbakov BLR

LOSC Lille – Crvena Zvezda
Referee: Sven Jablonski GER
Assistant Referee 1: Eduard Beitinger GER
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Kempter GER
Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann GER
VAR: Robert Schröder GER
AVAR: Christian Dingert GER
Referee Observer: Augustus Constantin ROU

Celtic FC – VfB Stuttgart
Referee: Erik Lambrechts BEL
Assistant Referee 1: Mathias Hillaert BEL
Assistant Referee 2: Kevin Monteny BEL
Fourth Official: Jasper Vergoote BEL
VAR: Bram Van Driessche BEL
AVAR: Pol van Boekel NED
Referee Observer: David Malcom NIR

UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 – KO Stage, Play-Offs (First Leg)

17 February 2026
Galatasaray – Juventus
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout NED
VAR: Bastian Dankert GER
AVAR: Benjamin Brand GER
Referee Observer: Howard Webb ENG

SL Benfica – Real Madrid
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni NED
Fourth Official: Jérémie Pignard FRA
VAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Jarred Gillett ENG

Referee Observer: Nicola Rizzoli ITA  

AS Monaco – Paris St. Germain
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Ángel Nevado Rodríguez ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Fourth Official: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández ESP
VAR: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
AVAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
Referee Observer: Dejan Filipović SRB

Borussia Dortmund – Atalanta BC
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük NED
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Inia NED
Assistant Referee 2: Rogier Honig NED
Fourth Official: Jeroen Manschot NED
VAR: Pol van Boekel NED
AVAR: Bram van Driessche BEL
Referee Observer: William Young SCO

18 February 2026
Qarabag FK – Newcastle United
Referee: Espen Eskas NOR
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Engan NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Isaak Bashevkin NOR
Fourth Official: Sigurd Kringstad NOR
VAR: Rob Dieperink NED
AVAR: Dennis Higler NED
Referee Observer: Matteo Trefoloni ITA

Olympiakos FC – Bayer Leverkusen
Referee: João Pinheiro POR
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Jesus POR
Assistant Referee 2: Luciano Maia POR
Fourth Official: João Gonçalves POR
VAR: Tiago Martins POR
AVAR: Fabio Melo POR
Referee Observer: Edward Foley IRL

Bodo Glimt – Inter Milano
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager GER
VAR: Christian Dingert GER
AVAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
Referee Observer: Elmir Pilav BIH

Club Brugge – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Kristoffer Karlsson SWE
VAR: Jarred Gillett ENG
AVAR: Robert Schröder GER
Referee Observer: Bariş Şimşek TUR

Concacaf Champions Cup 2026 – First Round (First Leg, II)

17 February 2026
Atletico Ottawa – Nashville SC

Real Espana – Los Angeles FC

18 February 2026
Defence Force – Philadelphia Union

Cartagines – Vancouver Whitecaps

O&M – FC Cincinnati

19 February 2026
Sporting San Miguelito – LA Galaxy

UEFA Women’s Europa Cup 2025/26 – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

18 February 2026

FC Nordsjaelland – Eintracht Frankfurt
Referee: Emanuela Rusta ALB (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Mirjeta Salla ALB
Assistant Referee 2: Sandra Nigulis EST
Fourth Official: Florian Lata ALB
Referee Observer: Bente Skogvang NOR

Hammarby IF – Sporting CP
Referee: Maria Ferrieri Caputi ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Stefania Signorelli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Emily Carney ENG
Fourth Official: Maria Marotta ITA
Referee Observer: Caroline De Boeck BEL

Breidablik – BK Hacken
Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Rocio Puente Pino ESP
Fourth Official: Paola Cebollada López ESP
Referee Observer: Kirsi Heikkinen FIN

Austria Wien – Sparta Praha
Referee: Catarina Campos POR
Assistant Referee 1: Andreia Sousa POR
Assistant Referee 2: Vanessa Gomes POR
Fourth Official: Teresa Oliveira POR
Referee Observer: Christine Baitinger GER

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2025/26 – KO Stage, Play-Offs (Second Leg)

18 February 2026

Arsenal WFC – OH Leuven
Referee: Eleni Antoniou GRE (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Vasilia Tsiklitari GRE
Assistant Referee 2: Anita Vad HUN
Fourth Official: Réka Molnar HUN
VAR: Ferenc Karakó HUN
AVAR: Gergo Bogár HUN
Referee Observer: Carina Vitulano ITA

Real Madrid – Paris FC
Referee: Iuliana Demetrescu ROU
Assistant Referee 1: Bianca Florea ROU
Assistant Referee 2: Almira Spahić SWE
Fourth Official: Karoline Jensen NOR
VAR: Tom Hagen NOR
AVAR: Emilie Torkelsen NOR
Referee Observer: Knarik Grigoryan ARM

19 February 2026
Juventus FC – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Frida Klarlund DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Sidsel Rasmussen DEN
Assistant Referee 2: Alisa Levalampi SWE
Fourth Official: Ivana Projkovska MKD
VAR: Jakob Kehlet DEN
AVAR: Lasse Graagaard DEN
Referee Observer: Snježana Fočić CRO

Manchester United – Atletico de Madrid
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Camille Soriano FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Rossignol FRA
Fourth Official: Maika Vanderstichel FRA
VAR: Mathieu Vernice FRA
AVAR: Elisa Daupeux FRA
Referee Observer: Galina Doneva BUL

CONMEBOL Recopa 2026 (First Leg)

19 February 2026

Lanus – Flamengo
Referee: Alexis Herrera VEN (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Lubin Torrealba VEN
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera VEN
Reserve AR: Erizon Nieto VEN
VAR: Carlos Orbe ECU
AVAR 1: Christian Lescano ECU
AVAR 2: Franklin Congo ECU
AVAR 3: Angel Arteaga VEN
Referee Assessor: Pedro Saucedo BOL
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux COL

UEFA Youth League 2025/2026 – Round of 16

24 February 2026

Inter Milano – Real Betis
Referee: Joey Kooij NED (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Dyon Fikkert NED
Assistant Referee 2: Murat Kücükerbir NED
Fourth Official: Kevin Bonacina ITA

Eintracht Frankfurt – Sporting CP
Referee: Samuel Barrott ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Alex James ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Jacob Graham ENG
Fourth Official: Tom Bauer GER

25 February 2026
Paris St. Germain – HJK Helsinki
Referee: Miloš Milanović SRB
Assistant Referee 1: Nikola Antić SRB
Assistant Referee 2: Novak Novaković SRB
Fourth Official: Aurélien Petit FRA

SL Benfica – AZ Alkmaar
Referee: Antoni Bandić BIH
Assistant Referee 1: Amir Kadić BIH
Assistant Referee 2: Nebojša Žugić BIH

Real Madrid – Chelsea FC
Referee: Igor Stojčevski MKD
Assistant Referee 1: Vjolca Izeiri MKD
Assistant Referee 2: Filip Ickovski MKD
Fourth Official: Álvaro Rodríguez Recio ESP

MŠK Žilina – Club Brugge
Referee: Radoslav Gidzhenov BUL
Assistant Referee 1: Petar Mitrev BUL
Assistant Referee 2: Todor Vukov BUL
Fourth Official: Matej Choreň SVK

Atletico de Madrid – Maccabi Haifa
Referee: Ishmael Barbara MLT
Assistant Referee 1: James Muscat MLT
Assistant Referee 2: Duncan Spencer MLT
Fourth Official: Luis Morona Del Campo ESP

Villarreal CF – Legia Warszawa
Referee: Edgars Malcevs LVA
Assistant Referee 1: Martinš Svipsts LVA
Assistant Referee 2: Deniss Ševcenko LVA
Fourth Official: Borja Guijarro Colomer ESP

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 – Second Round (First Leg)

17-19 February 2026

Carabobo – Huachipato
Referee: Andres Rojas COL (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Ortiz COL
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Padilla COL
Fourth Official: Jairo Mayorga COL
VAR: David Rodriguez COL
AVAR: Luis Picon COL
Referee Assessor: Jairo Romero VEN
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila ECU

2 de Mayo – Sporting Cristal
Referee: Carlos Betancur COL
Assistant Referee 1: John Leon COL
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Roldan COL
Fourth Official: Maria Daza COL
VAR: Nicolas Gallo COL
AVAR: Nataly Arteaga CO
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino PAR
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios CHI

Liverpool – Independiente Medellin
Referee: Bruno Arleu BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Luanderson Lima BR
Assistant Referee 2: Maira Mastella BRA
Fourth Official: Charly Straub BRA
VAR: Pablo Gonçalves BRA
AVAR: Caio Max BRA
Referee Assessor: Fernando Falce URU
VAR Supervisor: Hernan Maidana ARG

O’Higgins – Bahia
Referee: Alberto Feres URU
Assistant Referee 1: Andres Nievas URU
Assistant Referee 2: Mathias Muniz URU
Fourth Official: Jose Burgos URU
VAR: Christian Ferreyra URU
AVAR: Santiago Fernandez URU
Referee Assessor: Christian Schiemann CHI
VAR Supervisor: Victor Martinez PAR

Barcelona – Argentinos Juniors
Referee: Fernando Vejar CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Poblete CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Wladimir Munoz CHI
Fourth Official: Diego Flores CHI
VAR: Nicolas Millas CHI
AVAR: Alejandro Molina CHI
Referee Assessor: Patricio Carpio ECU
VAR Supervisor: Marcelo de Leon URU

Nacional Potosi – Botafogo
Referee: Augusto Aragon ECU
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Baren ECU
Assistant Referee 2: Dennys Guerrero ECU
Fourth Official: Yerson Zambrano ECU
VAR: Gabriel Gonzalez ECU
AVAR: Byron Romero ECU
Referee Assessor: Jorge Antequera BOL
VAR Supervisor: Luis Vera ECU

Juventud – Guarani
Referee: Rafael Klein BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Mailton Souza BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Neuza Back BRA
Fourth Official: Daiane Muniz BRA
VAR: Daniel Nobre BRA
AVAR: Rodrigo Nunes BRA
Referee Assessor: Juan Cardellino URU
VAR Supervisor: Sabrina Lois ARG

Deportivo Tachira – Deportes Tolima
Referee: Hernan Heras URU
Assistant Referee 1: Horacio Ferreiro URU
Assistant Referee 2: Daiana Fernandez URU
Fourth Official: Anahi Fernandez URU
VAR: Antonio Garcia URU
AVAR: Diego Dunajec URU
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal PAR
VAR Supervisor: Jorge Mercado PAR

Rosetti: VAR at risk of becoming “too microscopic”

VAR is at risk of becoming too "microscopic" in over-analyzing subjective decisions, UEFA's referees' chief has said. Technology was introduced to football to erase clear and obvious errors, but supporters have become frustrated that it is causing matches to be re-refereed. 

UEFA director of refereeing Roberto Rosetti refrained from criticizing any competitions, but shares the general concern that VAR was at risk of going too far. "I believe we forgot the reason why VAR was introduced. We forgot a little bit. Everywhere. You remember, eight years ago, I came to London [to brief journalists]. We discussed 'what VAR stands for.' We spoke about clear mistakes. We spoke about clear and obvious mistakes. Technology works so well in factual decisions. For interpretations, subjective evaluation is more difficult. I believe that we need, at the end of the season in our meetings, to speak about this. We cannot go in this direction of microscopic VAR intervention. We love football like it is. When you are watching [a] situation with a super slow motion, you can find a lot of things." Rosetti said there was "zero contradiction" in saying VAR was at risk of becoming too microscopic while at the same time not dismissing the idea of extending its remit to cover corner kick checks. "What is crucial is one concept, we cannot delay the start of play," he said. "If something is in place to delay the restart of play, I think [it] is not good for football."

Rosetti also said more work was needed to come up with a common interpretation of the handball law across Europe and said he would speak again to referees' chiefs around the continent about it, including Howard Webb at Professional Game Match Officials. "We must speak only one technical language [on handball]," he said. "We were speaking a lot for sure before the season, we need to speak again [and have] only one uniform and consistent interpretation. We are working on this."

Source: ESPN