This Tuesday, as part of Matchday 5 of the 2024-2025 Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain (25th) take on Bayern Munich (17th) at the Allianz Arena (kick-off 9pm, broadcast on Canal+Foot). István Kovács (40) has been chosen to referee the match. Kovács has little experience of the Champions League, having played 24 matches since the 2018/2019 season.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Mihai Marica and Ferencz Tunyogi. As for the role of 4th referee, it will be occupied by Florin Andrei. And video assistance will be provided by Pol van Boekel and Cătălin Popa.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Batta at the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to come out very quickly during the match. Indeed, while the average per game is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Sunday’s referee has given an average of 4.75 yellows per game in his entire Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s quite a high number, proving that referees can be severe and uncompromising.
Direct red cards –
The man at the whistle on Sunday is not very severe when it comes to direct exclusions, as he has a low tendency to hand out direct red cards. Indeed, Kovács has given out 0.08 exclusions per match in his LDC career, while the average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.09). As long as it’s thanks to good management, all the better.
Second yellow cards –
Last but not least, István Kovács has a habit of sending players off after their first yellow card in a match, as he issued a second caution to the same player an average of 0.04 times per game. This is well below the average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.05). With so many yellows and so few reds, it’s finally proof that he can frame teams without punishing them permanently.
Penaltys –
Finally, when it comes to penalty kicks, the man with the whistle on Sunday is higher than average, with 0.54 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.20).
