AFC Champions League Elite 2026 – Final Stage

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), 17-25 April 2026

Match Officials
Referee: Alireza Faghani AUS (photo)
Assistant Referee: George Lakrindis AUS

Referee: Ma Ning CHN
Assistant Referee: Zhou Fei CHN

Referee: Yusuke Araki JPN
Assistant Referee: Jun Mihara JPN

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh JOR
Assistant Referee: Mohammad Al-Khalaf JOR

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf OMA
Assistant Referee: Abu Al-Amri OMA

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim QAT
Assistant Referee: Taleb Al-Marri QAT

Referee: Salman Falahi QAT
Assistant Referee: Ramzan Al-Naimi QAT

Referee: Khalid Al-Turais KSA
Assistant Referee: Mohammed Al-Abakry KSA

Referee: Omar Al-Ali UAE
Assistant Referee: Mohammed Al-Hammadi UAE

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev UZB
Assistant Referee: Andrey Tsapenko UZB

Video Match Officials
1. Shaun Evans AUS
2. Fu Ming CHN
3. Jumpei Iida JPN
4. Kim Woo-Sung KOR
5. Abdullah Jamali KUW
6. Khamis Al-Marri QAT
7. Abdullah Al-Shehri KSA
8. Muhammad Bin Jahari SIN
9. Sivakorn Pu-Udom THA
10. Mohammed Obaid UAE
11. Firdavs Nursafarov UZB

CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2026 – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

7-9 April 2026

O’Higgins – Millonarios
Referee: Roberto Perez PER (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Jesus Sanchez PER
Assistant Referee 2: Leonar Soto PER
Fourth Official: Jordi Espinoza PER
VAR: Diego Haro PER
AVAR: Alejandro Villanueva PER
Referee Assessor: Ubaldo Aquino PAR
VAR Supervisor: Juan Cardellino URU

Independiente – Racing Club
Referee: Augusto Menendez PER
Assistant Referee 1: Stephen Atoche PER
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Jaimes PER
Fourth Official: Daniel Ureta PER
VAR: Milagros Arruela PER
AVAR: Mariana Aquino PER
Referee Assessor: Juan Lugones BOL
VAR Supervisor: Oscar Viera PAR

Barracas Central – Vasco da Gama
Referee: Carlos Betancur COL
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman COL
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego COL
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan COL
VAR: Leonard Mosquera COL
AVAR: Keiner Jimenez COL
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi ARG
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino URU

Alianza Atletico – Tigre
Referee: Paulo Zanovelli BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Boschilia BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Guilherme Camilo BRA
Fourth Official: Matheus Candançan BRA
VAR: Daniel Nobre BRA
AVAR: Rodrigo D’Alonso BRA
Referee Assessor: Cesar Mongrut PER
VAR Supervisor: Alicio Pena BRA

Boston River – Sao Paulo
Referee: Leandro Rey ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Cristian Navarro ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Mariana de Almeida ARG
Fourth Official: Nazareno Arasa ARG
VAR: Nicolas Lamolina ARG
AVAR: Salome Di Iorio ARG
Referee Assessor: Jose Espinel ECU
VAR Supervisor: Luis Vera ECU

Deportivo Cuenca – Santos
Referee: Gery Vargas BOL
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Antelo BOL
Assistant Referee 2: Edwar Saavedra BOL
Fourth Official: Ivo Mendez BOL
VAR: Jorge Justiniano BOL
AVAR: Ariel Guizada BOL
Referee Assessor: Jose Carpio ECU
VAR Supervisor: Victor Martinez PAR

Deportivo Riestra – Palestino
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero ECU
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Avila ECU
Assistant Referee 2: Dennys Gerrero ECU
Fourth Official: Alex Cajas ECU
VAR: Carlos Orbe ECU
AVAR: Franklin Congo ECU
Referee Assessor: Manuel Bernal PAR
VAR Supervisor: Pericles Cortes BRA

Recoleta – San Lorenzo
Referee: Cristian Garay CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Claudio Urrutia CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Serrano CHI
Fourth Official: Diego Flores CHI
VAR: Miguel Araos CHI
AVAR: Alejandro Molina CHI
Referee Assessor: Myriam Melgarejo PAR
VAR Supervisor: Ednilson Corona BRA

Audax Italiano – Olimpia
Referee: Andres Matonte URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Soppi URU
Fourth Official: Gustavo Tejera URU
VAR: Chrystian Ferreyra URU
AVAR: Agustin Berisso URU
Referee Assessor: Barbra Bastias CHI
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano PER

Blooming – River Plate
Referee: Andres Rojas COL
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Ortiz COL
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Roldan COL
Fourth Official: Carlos Ortega COL
VAR: David Rodriguez COL
AVAR: Luis Picon COL
Referee Assessor: Oscar Maldonado BOL
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios CHI

Montevideo City Torque – Gremio
Referee: Augusto Aragon ECU
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano ECU
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren ECU
Fourth Official: Bryan Loayza ECU
VAR: Gabriel Gonzalez ECU
AVAR: Byron Romero ECU
Referee Assessor: Miguel Nievas URU
VAR Supervisor: Jorge Mercado PAR

Academia Puerto Cabello – Atletico Mineiro
Referee: Yael Falcon ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez ARG
Fourth Official: Maximiliano Ramirez ARG
VAR: Silvio Trucco ARG
AVAR: Lucas Novelli ARG
Referee Assessor: Jairo Romero VEN
VAR Supervisor: Marcelo de Leon URU

Juventud – Cienciano
Referee: Bryan Loayza ECU
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano ECU
Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Baren ECU
Fourth Official: Augusto Aragon ECU
VAR: Gabriel Gonzalez ECU
AVAR: Byron Romero ECU
Referee Assessor: Miguel Nievas URU
VAR Supervisor: Jorge Mercado PAR

Botafogo – Caracas
Referee: Kevin Ortega PER
Assistant Referee 1: Michael Orue PER
Assistant Referee 2: Jose Castillo PER
Fourth Official: Michael Espinoza PER
VAR: Joel Alarcon PER
AVAR: Pablo Lopez PER
Referee Assessor: Rodrigo Joia BRA
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic CHI

Macara – America de Cali
Referee: Carlos Benitez PAR
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo PAR
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar PAR
Fourth Official: Juan Benitez PAR
VAR: Jose Mendez PAR
AVAR: Luis Onieva PAR
Referee Assessor: Juan Corozo ECU
VAR Supervisor: Angel Sanchez ARG

Carabobo – Red Bull Bragantino
Referee: Hernan Heras URU
Assistant Referee 1: Horacio Ferreiro URU
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Llarena URU
Fourth Official: Jose Burgos URU
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez URU
AVAR: Antonio Garcia URU
Referee Assessor: Luis Sanchez VEN
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux COL

CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026 – Group Stage (Matchday 1)

7-9 April 2026

Barcelona – Cruzeiro
Referee: Juan Benitez PAR (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Eduardo Cardozo PAR
Assistant Referee 2: Milciades Saldivar PAR
Fourth Official: Carlos Benitez PAR
VAR: Jose Mendez PAR
AVAR: Luis Onieva PAR
Referee Assessor: Juan Corozo BOL
VAR Supervisor: Angel Sanchez ARG

Deportiva La Guaira – Fluminense
Referee: Jose Burgos URU
Assistant Referee 1: Horacio Ferreiro URU
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Llarena URU
Fourth Official: Hernan Heras URU
VAR: Leodan Gonzalez URU
AVAR: Antonio Garcia URU
Referee Assessor: Luis Sanchez VEN
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Lamouroux COL

Independiente Rivadavia – Bolivar
Referee: Jose Cabero CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha CHI
Fourth Official: Piero Maza CHI
VAR: Juan Lara CHI
AVAR: Edson Cisternas CHI
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola ARG
VAR Supervisor: Roberto Silvera URU

Always Ready – LDU Quito
Referee: Carlos Ortega COL
Assistant Referee 1: Richard Ortiz COL
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Roldan COL
Fourth Official: Andres Rojas COL
VAR: David Rodriguez COL
AVAR: Luis Picon COL
Referee Assessor: Oscar Maldonado BOL
VAR Supervisor: Claudio Rios CHI

Universidad Catolica – Boca Juniors
Referee: Gustavo Tejera URU
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Taran URU
Assistant Referee 2: Martin Soppi URU
Fourth Official: Andres Matonte URU
VAR: Christian Ferreyra URU
AVAR: Agustin Berisso URU
Referee Assessor: Babra Bastias CHI
VAR Supervisor: Cesar Escano PER

Deportes Tolima – Universitario
Referee: Wilton Sampaio BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Bruno Pires BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Alves BRA
Fourth Official: Bruno Arleu BRA
VAR: Pablo Gonçalves BRA
AVAR: Caio Viera BRA
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez COL
VAR Supervisor: Julio Bascunan CHI

Coquimbo Unido – Nacional
Referee: Raphael Claus BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Nailton Sousa BRA
Fourth Official: Rafael Klein BRA
VAR: Rodolpho Toski BRA
AVAR: Rodrigo Nunes BRA
Referee Assessor: Ricardo Marques BRA
VAR Supervisor: Rodney Aquino PAR

Mirassol – Lanus
Referee: John Ospina COL
Assistant Referee 1: David Fuentes COL
Assistant Referee 2: Sebastian Vela COL
Fourth Official: Jose Ortiz COL
VAR: Nicolas Gallo COL
AVAR: John Leon COL
Referee Assessor: Hilton Moutinho BRA
VAR Supervisor: Patricio Polic CHI

Independiente Medellin – Estudiantes
Referee: Alexis Herrera VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Tulio Moreno VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Ponte VEN
Fourth Official: Yender Herrera VEN
VAR: Angel Arteaga VEN
AVAR: Reyes Soto VEN
Referee Assessor: Luzmila Gonzalez COL
VAR Supervisor: Henry Gambetta PER

Cusco – Flamengo
Referee: Derlis Lopez PAR
Assistant Referee 1: Roberto Cañete PAR
Assistant Referee 2: José Cuevas PAR
Fourth Official: Mario Diaz de Vivar PAR
VAR: Fernando Lopez PAR
AVAR: Carlos Figueredo PAR
Referee Assessor: Ana Perez PER
VAR Supervisor: Wilson Avila ECU

Junior – Palmeiras
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: José Savorani ARG
Fourth Official: Sebastian Zunino ARG
VAR: Hernan Mastrangelo ARG
AVAR: German Delfino ARG
Referee Assessor: Sebastian Restrepo COL
VAR Supervisor: Victor Carrillo PER

Sporting Cristal – Cerro Porteno
Referee: Dario Herrera ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Gabriel Chade ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Pablo Gonzalez ARG
Fourth Official: Sebastian Martinez ARG
VAR: Hector Paletta ARG
AVAR: Jorge Baliño ARG
Referee Assessor: Jorge Jaimes PER
VAR Supervisor: Sandra Zambrano ECU

Universidad Central – Libertad
Referee: Flavio Souza BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Alex Ang BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Victor Imazu BRA
Fourth Official: Ramon Abatti BRA
VAR: Rodrigo Guarizo BRA
AVAR: Rodrigo Correa BRA
Referee Assessor: Jairo Romero ECU
VAR Supervisor: Marcelo de Leon URU

Rosario Central – Independiente Del Valle
Referee: Wilmar Roldan COL
Assistant Referee 1: Alexander Guzman COL
Assistant Referee 2: John Gallego COL
Fourth Official: Carlos Betancur COL
VAR: Leonard Mosquera COL
AVAR: Keiner Jimenez COL
Referee Assessor: Hector Baldassi ARG
VAR Supervisor: Carlos Pastorino URU

Platense – Corinthians
Referee: Piero Maza CHI
Assistant Referee 1: Jose Retamal CHI
Assistant Referee 2: Miguel Rocha CHI
Fourth Official: Jose Cabero CHI
VAR: Juan Lara CHI
AVAR: Edson Cisternas CHI
Referee Assessor: Sergio Viola ARG
VAR Supervisor: Roberto Silvera URU

Santa Fe – Penarol
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Lubin Torrealba VEN
Fourth Official: Alejandro Velazquez VEN
VAR: Juan Soto VEN
AVAR: Marco Suarez VEN
Referee Assessor: Abraham Gonzalez COL
VAR Supervisor: Julio Bascunan CHI

Referee Tello injured in extra time of World Cup Qualifier

The FIFA World Cup qualifier between Congo and Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico, was delayed during extra time because referee Facundo Tello sustained an injury to his left leg.

With Congo DR leading 1-0 in the 111th minute, Tello started grabbing his calf and knee, before keeling over. After two minutes of dealing with the pain, he left the game, and was replaced by the fourth referee, Dario Herrera.

The game was 0-0 after 90 minutes and went to extra time. Congo defender Axel Tuanzebe was on the end of a corner kick that gave his team the lead in the 100th minute. Congo DR held on for a 1-0 win that sent it to its first World Cup since 1974.

With the victory, Congo DR will join Group K, alongside Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia.

Source: Fox Sports

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

2 April 2026

BK Hacken – Eintracht Frankfurt
Referee: Ivana Martinčić CRO (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Maja Petravić CRO
Assistant Referee 2: Staša Špur SVN
Fourth Official: Aleksandra Česen SVN

Hammarby IF – Sparta Praha
Referee: Silvia Gasperotti ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Stefania Signorelli ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Veronica Martinelli ITA
Fourth Official: Deborah Bianchi ITA

UEFA Women’s Champions League 2025/26 – Quarter-finals (Second Leg)

1 April 2026

Bayern Munchen – Manchester United
Referee: Tess Olofsson SWE (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Almira Spahić SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Tilde Larsson SWE
Fourth Official: Lina Lehtovaara FIN
VAR: Katalin Kulcsár HUN
AVAR: Tamás Bognár HUN
Referee Observer: Ana Minić SRB

Chelsea WFC – Arsenal WFC
Referee: Frida Klarlund DEN
Assistant Referee 1: Monica Lokkeberg NOR
Assistant Referee 2: Linda Schmid SUI
Fourth Official: Désirée Blanco SUI
VAR: Katrin Rafalski GER
AVAR: Benjamin Brand GER
Referee Observer: Paloma Quintero Siles ESP

2 April 2026
FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Camille Soriano FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Rossignol FRA
Fourth Official: Hristiyana Guteva BUL
VAR: Mathieu Vernice FRA
AVAR: Elisa Daupeux FRA
Referee Observer: Regina Konink-Belksma NED

OL Lyonnnes – VfL Wolfsburg
Referee: Marta Huerta De Aza ESP
Assistant Referee 1: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP
Assistant Referee 2: Eliana Fernández González ESP
Fourth Official: Olatz Rivera Olmedo ESP
VAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez ESP
AVAR: Judit Romano Garcia ESP
Referee Observer: Claudine Brohet BEL

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers – UEFA (Play-Offs, Finals)

31 March 2026

Path A
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Italy
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: José Sánchez Martínez ESP
VAR: Jérôme Brisard FRA
AVAR: Willy Delajod FRA
Referee Assessor: Martin Ingvarsson SWE

Path B
Sweden – Poland
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenović SVN
VAR: Christian Dingert GER
AVAR: Robert Schröder GER
Referee Assessor: Matteo Trefoloni ITA

Path C
Kosovo – Türkiye
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
VAR: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
AVAR: Andrew Dallas SCO
Referee Assessor: Herbert Fandel GER

Path D
Czechia – Denmark
Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2: Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Marco Guida ITA
VAR: Marco Di Bello ITA
AVAR: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
Referee Assessor: Stefan Johannesson SWE

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

Mexico, 31 March 2026

Congo DR – Jamaica
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG
Fourth Official: Dario Herrera ARG
VAR: Hernan Mastrangelo ARG
AVAR: Juan Soto VEN

Iraq – Bolivia
Referee: Ivan Barton SLV
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran SLV
Assistant Referee 2: Henri Pupiro NCA
Fourth Official: Said Martinez HON
VAR: Tatiana Guzman NCA
AVAR: Guillermo Pacheco MEX

UEFA Nations League 2024/2025 – League C/D Play-Offs (Second Leg)

31 March 2026

Latvia – Gibraltar
Referee: Sandro Schärer SUI (photo)
Assistant Referee 1: Stéphane De Almeida SUI
Assistant Referee 2: Susanne Küng SUI
Fourth Official: Luca Cibelli SUI
VAR: Lukas Fähndrich SUI
AVAR: Michèle Schmölzer SUI
Referee Observer: Alain Hamer LUX

Luxembourg – Malta
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager GER
VAR: Sören Storks GER
AVAR: Johann Pfeifer GER
Referee Observer: Murat Ilgaz TUR

Marciniak denies the rumors: "I am already training and heading to the World Cup seminar"

Szymon Marciniak was scheduled to referee the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 match between Liverpool and Galatasaray, but increasing lower back pain forced him to attend the pre-match warm-up at Anfield Road, less than 40 minutes before kick-off, not only with assistant referees Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik, as usual, but also, exceptionally, with Paweł Raczkowski, the fourth official, also a reserve. The pain was so severe that Marciniak decided not to take any chances and swapped roles with the fourth official. About 15-20 minutes before the match, Raczkowski learned that, after five and a half years since his last Champions League group stage match as referee, he was returning to the competition in the same role – suddenly and immediately to the Round of 16. Shortly thereafter, various accounts of Marciniak's absence from Liverpool emerged in the media. Some suggested a recurrence of the injury that forced the referee to undergo surgery late last year, while others suggested a new, more serious injury that would allegedly mean a months-long break from officiating and exclusion from this year's World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

"The rumors about my injury, which would keep me out of refereeing for many months, are completely untrue. The truth is that I suffered a lumbar spine injury, which is the only reason I didn't officiate the Liverpool-Galatasaray match. I've already returned to training, albeit lightly for now, and from March 29th to April 3rd, I'll be participating in a FIFA training camp for UEFA World Cup candidates. I'm very keen to participate in my third World Cup, which will be the biggest event of its kind in football history," said Szymon Marciniak, who previously officiated the World Cups in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Russia and Qatar each had 32 national teams playing 64 matches, while the USA, Mexico, and Canada – for the first time – will have 48 teams playing 104 matches. This could mean that referees will also be used in more matches than in previous tournaments.

Source: TVP Sport