The bad omen of the Blugrana and the Rojiblancos
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has announced the appointment of Romanian referee Ștefan Covaci to officiate the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, which will take place next Wednesday at the Camp Nou.
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Kovács (41) is one of the leading referees in Europe and has an impressive track record that reflects the great confidence placed in him by UEFA.
He was selected to referee the most recent Champions League final between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, thereby becoming the first referee to officiate the finals of all three major European club competitions: the 2022 UEFA Conference League final between Roma and Feyenoord, the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, and the Champions League final.
Furthermore, Kovač has officiated numerous matches involving both Barcelona and Atlético, but neither side has won any of the matches in which Kovač has refereed them, whether in La Liga or even in continental competitions.
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The Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” noted that Wednesday’s match will be Kovač’s seventh in this season’s Champions League, as he has previously refereed matches involving the Rojiblancos, but has not officiated any previous encounters involving the Blaugrana in this competition.
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Real Madrid are the Spanish side for whom Kovač has officiated the most matches in Spain (five fixtures), which have seen four defeats and one draw this season.
As for Barcelona, this will be the third match Kovac has managed against the Catalan club, who have yet to taste victory under his leadership.