This Tuesday, as part of the first leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 play-offs (return on Wednesday February 19), Paris Saint-Germain take on Brest at the Stade du Roudourou (kick-off 6.45pm, UTC+1). The referee for the match is Bosnian Irfan Peljto (43). He has extensive experience in the Champions League, with 13 matches to his name. This will be the first time with PSG, but the second for Les Brestois after their 3-0 defeat by FC Barcelona in November.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Senad Ibrišimbegović and Davor Beljo. The 4th referee will be Miloš Gigovic. Video assistance will be provided by Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Piotr Lasyk.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Peljto on the whistle, it’s to be expected that yellow cards will be handed out with some difficulty during the match. Indeed, while the French average per game is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Tuesday’s referee has given an average of 3.23 yellows per game throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s low, and let’s hope it’s thanks to dialogue and not by forgetting to punish.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle on Tuesday was also relatively lenient when it came to direct red cards. Indeed, Peljto has had 0.15 exclusions per match in his career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). It must be thanks to good management, and that’s interesting. The fact that he referees so few matches should also be taken into account.
Second yellow cards –
Irfan Peljto is not in the habit of sending off a player after his first yellow card in a match, as he gave the same player a second warning an average of 0.08 times per match. This is just below the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With few yellows and reds, this is quite logical.
Penaltys –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man on the whistle on Tuesday is well above average, with 0.46 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08).
