- Ptolemy Horner
Istvan Kovacs appointed referee for Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Romanian referee, Istvan Kovacs, has been put in charge of Manchester City's Champions League fixture against Real Madrid. The Blues host the Spanish giants in the first of a two-leg affair at the semi-final stage of the competition. The match is to be played on the 26th of April, kicking off at 8 pm (BST).
Istvan Kovacs
The 37-year-old has now made 10 appearances in the Champions League since 2018/19 after being appointed referee for the first leg of City's tie against Atletico Madrid. In those 10 games, he has brandished 48 yellow cards and 1 red card.
In his previous City game, he handed out 5 yellow cards, which is nothing compared to the 11 he dished out earlier this season during Sevilla against Lille – the joint second-most in a game in Champions League history.
This Tuesday's fixture will not only be a testing game for the referee, but also for Pep Guardiola's side – however, they know that they can beat Real Madrid. In City's 2019/20 Champions League run, they faced Real Madrid in the round of 16 and beat them 2-1 in both legs.
Full Appointments
Referee: Istvan Kovacs
Assistants: Vasile Florin Marinescu and Ovidiu Artene
Fourth Official: Artur Dias
VAR: Marco Fritz
Assistant VAR: Bastian Dankert
Written by: @Ptolemy04
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