On Tuesday, October 21, as part of Matchday 3 of the 2025-2026 Champions League, first-place Paris Saint-Germain will face eighth-place Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena (kick-off at 9 p.m., CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: 41-year-old Jesus Gil Manzano. He has rather interesting experience, although he’s not a Champions League veteran, with 27 matches under his belt.
The referee will be assisted by Angel Nevado and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso. Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz will be the fourth official. Video assistants will be Carlos del Cerro Grande and Jarred Gillet.
Yellow Cards –
With Mr. Gil Manzano at the helm, we can expect yellow cards to come out fairly quickly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation of 0.39), Tuesday’s referee has issued an average of 3.85 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). This is high, and we hope it’s also supported by dialogue to avoid tensions.
Straight Red Cards –
The referee this Tuesday is much less severe when it comes to straight red cards. Indeed, Gil Manzano has 0 sendings per match in his Champions League career, while the Ligue 1 average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). There’s clearly no blanket punishment.
Second Yellow Cards –
Jesus Gil Manzano also doesn’t usually send off a player after his first yellow card in a match, as he has never given the same player a second booking in this competition. The French average is 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). With many yellow cards to begin with, this is a bit of a surprise and confirms that sending off is rare for the Spaniard. If it’s thanks to successful management, so much the better.
Penalties –
Regarding penalties, the man who will be in charge this Tuesday is above average with 0.37 penalties awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History –
Gil Manzano has refereed four times for PSG: a 4-1 victory against Bruges in the 2021-2022 group stage, a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the 2022-2023 group stage, a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund in the 2023-2024 group stage, and a 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in the same group stage.
He has never refereed Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
