Referee Spotlight: Oliver to steer Barca-PSG Showdown in Montjuïc, a CL Clásico with a Curious Corner Flag
29 septembre 2025
Referee appointed for Barca-PSG showdown
UEFA on Monday named English referee Michael Oliver to take charge of the upcoming second matchday of the UEFA Champions League, the Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain clash scheduled for Wednesday at Montjuïc as the Catalan club awaits the completion of renovations at Camp Nou.
The French newspaper Le Parisien highlighted Oliver, pointing out that he was present for PSG’s two big wins in last season’s Champions League, which culminated in the club’s maiden “Big Ears” trophy with a 5-0 victory over Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena.
Under Oliver, PSG registered two wins and 10 goals in recent European outings during the season’s campaign, including a 3-0 win over Salzburg in the group stage and a 7-0 rout of Brest in the qualifying play-off for the last-16.
Le Parisien noted that the 40-year-old English international has officiated five PSG matches, all in the Champions League, with PSG notching wins in most of those encounters.
PSG have only suffered one defeat in Oliver’s presence, in the away leg of the 2022-23 last-16 against Bayern Munich, where the German side edged a 1-0 win; Oliver did not show a red card in those five fixtures.
Oliver has overseen 404 Premier League matches, became a FIFA-listed referee in 2012, and first took charge of a Champions League match in 2016, later handling around 40 CL games and 25 Europa League fixtures.
His resume also includes several continental and world tournaments, such as the Qatar 2022 World Cup and Euro 2021 staged across 13 countries, with Euro 2024 held in Germany.
This year Oliver also refereed two France matches, the first a victory over Croatia on penalties (5-4) in the Nations League quarterfinals after a 2-2 draw on the night, with both teams trading wins in the March fixtures.
In Barca’s European affairs, Oliver officiated four Barcelona matches in the Champions League, with one win, two draws against Red Star Belgrade and Atalanta, and a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2021-2022 group stage.
Wednesday’s tie will be the 16th meeting between PSG and Barcelona in European competition, all in the Champions League.
The head-to-head balance is modestly in favor of Barca with six wins, five PSG wins, and four draws across those encounters, with PSG scoring 27 goals to Barca’s 28.
Yet the latest meetings have shown PSG’s capacity to edge the tie in big moments, eliminating Barca in the 2023-2024 quarterfinals after a 2-3 defeat in Paris followed by a 4-1 home win in Montjuïc, while Barca had previously claimed a famous 6-1 comeback at Camp Nou in 2016-2017, known as the “Remontada.”
The common thread through these clashes is Luis Enrique, who coached Barca in 2017 and later became a pivotal figure when PSG reached the later stages in 2024.
Punchline 1: If this match is a sniper’s shot, Oliver’s whistle is the bullet—clean, precise, and likely to miss more drama than a calendar in July.
Punchline 2: Quick reminder: in football, as in comedy, timing is everything—let’s hope the whistle lands just as perfectly as a perfect punchline after a superb buildup.
