UEFA Champions League referees — who books, and who lets it flow
Every card price has one official silently included in it — not one of the players. The appointment is public before kick-off, the record is measurable, and the effect on the cards markets is the largest single factor the model prices, larger than the derby, larger than the opponent. This page is the file: card and foul rates for every official on the current panel, with the sample sizes shown, because a tendency built on six matches is a rumour and one built on a hundred is a fact. The player cards guide explains how the model turns these numbers into a price.
Career rates across every season we hold, for each referee who took charge of a UEFA Champions League match in 25/26. Deliberately not a next-season panel prediction — officials come and go every summer, so we profile who actually officiated. League averages: 3.96 cards and 21.9 fouls per match, a 18.1% foul-to-card conversion.
There are 19 referees on the current UEFA Champions League panel with a meaningful record, plus 24 newer officials still building one. Felix Zwayer is the strictest — 5.45 cards a match, 1.38× the league average of 3.96; Glenn Nyberg is the most lenient at 2.65 a match. These are career card rates across every season we hold, the referee-tendency map the cards model prices from — not a prediction.
The panel, strictest first
Two columns do the real work here. vs league is each referee's card rate against the average — the number the model multiplies a player's booking chance by. And conversion is the tell: foul counts barely vary between officials, but the share of fouls that become bookings varies a lot. A referee at the top of this table isn't seeing a dirtier game than one at the bottom, but reaching for the pocket where a colleague lower down would have a word. That distinction, not the raw whistle count, is where a card tendency lives.
| Referee | Matches | 25/26 | Cards / match | vs league | Fouls / match | Conversion | Reds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Zwayer | 20 | 5 | 5.45 | 1.38× | 21.0 | 26.0% | 8 |
| Daniel Siebert | 19 | 10 | 5.05 | 1.28× | 22.6 | 22.4% | 5 |
| Istvan Kovacs | 26 | 7 | 4.77 | 1.20× | 23.5 | 20.3% | 7 |
| Michael Oliver | 25 | 8 | 4.52 | 1.14× | 23.0 | 19.6% | 3 |
| Szymon Marciniak | 24 | 4 | 4.29 | 1.08× | 24.6 | 17.4% | 4 |
| Jesus Gil Manzano | 18 | 6 | 4.22 | 1.07× | 21.0 | 20.1% | 3 |
| Ivan Kružliak | 15 | 6 | 4.13 | 1.04× | 22.9 | 18.1% | 2 |
| Maurizio Mariani | 18 | 7 | 4.11 | 1.04× | 19.7 | 20.8% | 3 |
| Joao Pedro Pinheiro | 15 | 8 | 4.07 | 1.03× | 20.2 | 20.1% | 2 |
| José María Sánchez Martínez | 19 | 6 | 3.79 | 0.96× | 22.7 | 16.7% | 5 |
| Sandro Schärer | 15 | 4 | 3.73 | 0.94× | 21.5 | 17.3% | 1 |
| Slavko Vinčić | 30 | 9 | 3.67 | 0.93× | 23.1 | 15.9% | 4 |
| Danny Makkelie | 24 | 8 | 3.67 | 0.93× | 22.3 | 16.4% | 4 |
| Irfan Peljto | 15 | 2 | 3.67 | 0.93× | 21.0 | 17.5% | 6 |
| François Letexier | 24 | 8 | 3.63 | 0.92× | 20.0 | 18.2% | 6 |
| Clement Turpin | 25 | 7 | 3.60 | 0.91× | 22.0 | 16.4% | 4 |
| Davide Massa | 21 | 5 | 3.43 | 0.87× | 19.5 | 17.6% | 8 |
| Espen Eskas | 17 | 6 | 2.82 | 0.71× | 20.0 | 14.1% | 1 |
| Glenn Nyberg | 17 | 5 | 2.65 | 0.67× | 20.8 | 12.7% | 1 |
The newer officials — small samples, read gently
These referees took charge in 25/26 but haven't yet built a record worth betting on — under 15 career matches, a card rate is mostly noise wearing a decimal point. The model treats them exactly as this table presents them: shrunk toward the league average and carrying a confidence discount until the evidence arrives. We'd rather show you a thin sample labelled honestly than a confident number that hasn't been earned.
| Referee | Matches | 25/26 | Cards / match | Fouls / match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Sylwestrzak | 2 | 2 | 6.00 | 27.5 |
| Nick Walsh | 4 | 3 | 5.75 | 25.8 |
| Urs Schnyder | 5 | 3 | 5.20 | 19.2 |
| Aliyar Aghayev | 6 | 2 | 5.17 | 27.7 |
| Marian Barbu | 1 | 1 | 5.00 | 24.0 |
| Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea | 1 | 1 | 5.00 | 23.0 |
| Sebastian Gishamer | 1 | 1 | 5.00 | 28.0 |
| Rade Obrenovič | 10 | 4 | 4.80 | 20.3 |
| Serdar Gozubuyuk | 14 | 6 | 4.71 | 25.2 |
| Tobias Stieler | 13 | 2 | 4.54 | 23.5 |
| Simone Sozza | 2 | 2 | 4.50 | 18.0 |
| Halil Umut Meler | 12 | 1 | 4.25 | 20.7 |
| Benoît Bastien | 13 | 4 | 3.92 | 22.1 |
| Donatas Rumsas | 10 | 4 | 3.40 | 25.7 |
| Marco Guida | 13 | 6 | 3.15 | 21.2 |
| Chris Kavanagh | 5 | 4 | 3.00 | 21.6 |
| Eric Lambrechts | 8 | 4 | 2.88 | 20.6 |
| Sven Jablonski | 4 | 4 | 2.50 | 20.5 |
| Manfredas Lukjancukas | 6 | 1 | 2.33 | 21.5 |
| Alejandro Hernandez | 9 | 5 | 2.00 | 19.4 |
| Juan Martinez Munuera | 2 | 1 | 2.00 | 20.0 |
| Luís Godinho | 1 | 1 | 2.00 | 25.0 |
| Igor Pajač | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 19.0 |
| Paweł Raczkowski | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 22.0 |
How UEFA Champions League compares
UEFA Champions League sits between the other leagues we cover on cards — 3.96 a match against La Liga's 4.87 and the Premier League's 4.08 — with 21.9 fouls a game.
| League | Cards / match | Fouls / match | Foul → card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 4.08 | 21.9 | 18.7% |
| Bundesliga | 4.08 | 22.1 | 18.4% |
| UEFA Champions League you're here | 3.96 | 21.9 | 18.1% |
| Championship | 4.01 | 21.9 | 18.3% |
| La Liga | 4.87 | 25.4 | 19.2% |
| Ligue 1 | 3.88 | 24.5 | 15.8% |
| Serie A | 4.21 | 24.8 | 17.0% |
Career rates across every season we hold, built the same way in each league. Stricter isn't better or worse — it's the baseline each referee on this page is measured against.
Other officials on record
Career records the model still uses for the matches each one covers. The season shown is the last with a UEFA Champions League match on record.
Anthony Taylor retired · Daniele Orsato 23/24 · Artur Soares Dias 23/24 · Srdan Jovanovic 23/24 · Radu Marian Petrescu 24/25 · Georgi Kabakov 24/25 · Orel Grinfeeld 24/25 · Carlos Del Cerro Grande 22/23 · Mykola Balakin 24/25 · Antonio Mateu Lahoz 22/23 · Bartosz Frankowski 23/24 · Rohit Saggi 24/25 · Andreas Ekberg 22/23 · Andris Treimanis 23/24 · Giorgi Kruashvili 24/25 · Nikola Dabanovic 24/25 · Stephanie Frappart 23/24 · Allard Lindhout 24/25 · Anastasios Sidiropoulos 22/23 · Antonio Nobre 23/24 · Enea Jorgji 23/24 · Harm Osmers 24/25 · Horatiu Fesnic 24/25 · Lawrence Visser 22/23 · Morten Krogh 23/24 · William Collum 23/24
What to do with this
A referee tendency tips a bet; it doesn't decide one. The archetypal card edge is a confluence — a combative midfielder, a strict official, a fixture with an edge to it — and the referee column is one input among several, applied to a player's own booking rate rather than replacing it. It's also worth saying plainly: the referee effect is strongest in the player to-be-carded market, and cards stay the hardest thing we price — in every league we cover, at least one card line (sometimes match totals, sometimes individual bookings) comes out no better than the base rate, and our public track record names which rather than hiding it. Anyone selling referee stats as a printing press is selling the fun half.
Frequently asked
How many referees are there in the UEFA Champions League?
The table above lists every official who took charge of a UEFA Champions League match in 25/26 and has built a meaningful record, with the newer ones shown separately rather than mixed in. The panel churns every summer, so the honest answer is whoever actually officiated — which is what this page shows, updated as the season runs.
Who is the strictest referee in the UEFA Champions League?
The one at the top of the table — it's sorted by cards per match, and the opening paragraph names that official, with the rate against the league average. Worth reading with the conversion column next to it: the strictest official isn't seeing a dirtier game, but reaching for the pocket where a colleague would have a word.
Do referees really move card prices?
More than any other single factor in the player cards market. Among UEFA Champions League officials with a meaningful sample, card rates run from roughly 10% below the league average to 10% above it — and because the appointment is public before kick-off, it's measurable in advance. The modelling guide on player cards walks through exactly how we use it.
Why is this the 25/26 panel?
Because it's the one we can stand behind. The panel churns every summer — promotions, retirements, removals — so a page of officials nobody has appointed yet is partly fiction, and a season only a few matches old can't tell you who is on it either. We profile the officials who actually took charge of a UEFA Champions League match in 25/26, with career numbers across every season we hold, and the page moves on once the new season has enough behind it.
What does the conversion column mean?
The share of fouls that become cards under each referee. It's the honest way to separate strict from whistle-happy: foul counts barely vary between officials, but the rate at which a foul turns into a booking varies a lot — that's where a referee's real card tendency lives.
Does the model use these exact numbers?
Nearly. The model uses each referee's card tendency relative to the league, shrunk toward neutral when the sample is thin, and it discounts its own confidence for officials with young records — the same caution the small-sample table below wears openly.
Descriptive rates from public match data, shown with sample sizes for context. The model applies shrinkage and a confidence discount before any of this touches a price, and grades itself in public on the track record. 18+ — please gamble responsibly.