the romanian referee István Kovacs will be in charge of directing the first leg of the Champions League semifinals between Manchester City and Real Madrid, as reported by UEFA.
Kovacs, an international since 2010, will be helped on the wings by his compatriots Vasile Florin Marinescu and Ovidiu Artene, while the fourth official will be the Portuguese Artur Dias. The German Marco Fritz and his compatriot Bastian Danker will be in the VAR, in the match that will be played on Tuesday, April 26 at the Etihad Stadium.
The Romanian referee has already directed five matches this season in the highest continental competition, including Sevilla-Lille (1-2) of the group stage on November 2, 2021.
He has also whistled against Barcelona in the draw (1-1) against Napoli on February 17 in the Europa League. And to Manchester City on October 19 in his visit to Bruges (1-5) in the group stage of the Champions League.
The most recent was Manchester City-Atlético de Madrid on April 5on the same stage, corresponding to the first leg of the quarterfinals of this competition that ended 1-0 for the English team.
It will be, therefore, the third time that he has refereed Manchester City this season.
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