On Wednesday, September 17, as part of the first matchday of the 2025-2026 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain will face Atalanta at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 p.m., CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Sandro Schärer (37 years old). He has significant experience in the Champions League, having played 16 matches.
The referee will be assisted by Stéphane De Almeida and Jonas Emi. Lionel Tschudi will serve as fourth official. Video assistants will be Bastian Dankert and Fedayi San.
Yellow Cards –
With Mr. Schärer at the helm, we can expect yellow cards to be issued relatively quickly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), Wednesday’s referee has given an average of 3.75 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). This is rather high, but we can hope for some restraint and dialogue.
Direct red cards –
Wednesday’s referee is also a little harsh on the issue of direct red cards. Indeed, Schärer has 0.18 sending-offs per match in his career, while the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). This is in keeping with the idea of managing them, rather than sanctioning at all costs, but without being afraid to be severe.
Second yellow cards –
Especially since Sandro Schärer has never sent off a player after his first yellow card in the Champions League. While the French average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03) per match. With many yellow cards initially, this reinforces the idea of a caution to calm things down while managing the match well.
Penalties –
Regarding penalties, the man who will be officiating this match is well below the average with 0.25 penalties awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History –
Schärer has refereed PSG once: a 1-1 draw against Bruges in September 2021 with four yellow cards.
This will be his first time with Atalanta.
