On Wednesday, February 25, in the second leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League playoff (2-3 in the first leg), Paris Saint-Germain will face AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 9 pm, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Istvan Kovacs (41 years old). He has considerable Champions League experience, having officiated 35 matches, including last season’s final.
He will be assisted by Mihai Marica and Ferenc Tunyogi. Szabolcs Kovacs will serve as the fourth official. Video assistant referee (VAR) Pol Van Boekel and Marci Di Bello will be in charge.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Kovacs in charge, we can expect yellow cards to be shown very early in the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 yellow cards (standard deviation of 0.39), Wednesday’s referee has averaged 4.51 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s very high; let’s hope he doesn’t neglect dialogue and promotes a tension-free match. Nuno Mendes (the 23-year-old left-back) will have to be careful, as a yellow card would mean a suspension for the first leg of the round of 16 should they qualify.
Direct Red Cards –
The man in charge on Wednesday was much less severe when it came to direct red cards. Kovacs has averaged 0.09 dismissals per match in his career, while the French average is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). This suggests a more controlled approach, rather than resorting to excessive punishment.
Second Yellow Cards –
Istvan Kovacs doesn’t typically send off a player after their first yellow card in a match, as he has given a second yellow card to the same player an average of 0.09 times per game. This is lower than the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). The high number of yellow cards initially supports the idea of issuing a second yellow card to calm tempers.
Penalties –
Regarding penalties, the referee officiating this second leg of the playoff is above average, awarding 0.37 penalties per game, while the Ligue 1 average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History –
Kovacs has refereed PSG six times: a 5-0 victory against Galatasaray (2019-2020 group stage), a 4-1 defeat against Newcastle (2023-2024 group stage), a 4-1 win against FC Barcelona (2024-2025 quarter-final second leg), a 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich (2024-2025 league stage), qualification on penalties against Liverpool after a 1-0 victory (2024-2025 round of 16 second leg), and the 5-0 final win against Inter Milan.
This will be his first time refereeing AS Monaco.
