Real Madrid is preparing to host Chelsea in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday, and in light of the ongoing controversy over the European Super League - led by club president Florentino Perez - the European Football Association (UEFA) has chosen a police officer to manage tomorrow's confrontation.
The European Football Association announced the selection of Dutchman Dani Makele as the main referee for the match, which will be held at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium in Madrid.
The Spanish newspaper "MARCA" said that Makeley, 38, is a police officer and rose to referees at the international level in 2011. He previously managed the Real Madrid and Atalanta match in the second leg of the Champions League final for this season, a confrontation that ended with the Madridians winning 3. -1, as he previously managed two matches for Chelsea in European competitions, the last of which was a draw with Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge in the 2017-2018 season.
According to the Spanish website ABC, there is fear within Real Madrid about targeting the team by arbitration and working to complicate its mission in reaching the final and competing for the 14th title in the club’s history, in response to the club’s involvement in promoting the European Super League. Which was met with violent opposition from UEFA.
🎥 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 |
Watch our final training session ahead of the match against @ChelseaFC! #UCL https://t.co/eodmynw4xY
- Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 26, 2021
Reports have continued in recent days of a possible exclusion of Real Madrid from the Champions League or other penalties, accompanied by Barcelona and Juventus, as the teams that have not officially announced their withdrawal from the Super League are among the 12 founding teams of this competition.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane refused to comment on these speculations, and said in his press conference today, Monday, "It is absurd to think about excluding us from the Champions League next season ... There has been a lot of words, but all we can do is focus on tomorrow's game, and the rest is not." It is our business. "
He added, "The only thing that is important to us is what is happening on the field, the referee will do his job, and we are only thinking about the performance, because if we think about everything that is said it will not be in our favor, we will fight for 90 minutes in this match, and we will not get into any matters." Other ".
Ronaldo controversy
The Dutch referee keeps a bad memory with the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, after refusing to count a goal for the former Real Madrid star during the match against Portugal and Serbia in the European qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup last March.
Ronaldo loses his temper 🤯😤
The full story of Cristiano Ronaldo's unpaid goal and his angry exit 😠💢 # World Cup Qualifiers |
# Qatar 2022 |
# Serbia_Portugal # Qatar2022 |
#WCQ pic.twitter.com/iDYHl73vIq
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 27, 2021
The replay footage at the time showed that the ball crossed the goal line, but the referee did not count the goal, noting that the video assistant refereeing technique (VAR) is not applied in the European qualifiers for the World Cup.
Referee Makeley later announced his apology from the coach of the Portuguese national team and his players after this mistake, and confirmed that he was working with his assistants to make the right decisions, and confirmed that they were not satisfied because of the error that made them the top of the media attention.