On Tuesday, March 17, in the second leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League Round of 16 tie (PSG won the first leg 5-2), Paris Saint-Germain will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (kick-off at 9 pm, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Slavko Vincic (46 years old). He has extensive Champions League experience, having officiated 48 matches.
He will be assisted by Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic. The fourth official will be David Smajc. Video assistant referees (VAR) will be Christian Dingert and Robert Schröder.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Vincic in charge, we can expect yellow cards to be issued relatively frequently during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 yellow cards (standard deviation of 0.39), Tuesday’s referee has averaged 3.66 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). This suggests that players are being protected, but without excessive cautions.
Direct Red Cards –
The referee on Tuesday was much less strict when it came to direct red cards. Vincic has averaged 0.04 red cards per match in his career, while the French average is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). This suggests a certain degree of match management, even though it’s important not to “forget” to issue penalties.
Second Yellow Cards –
Salvko Vincic doesn’t typically send off a player after their first yellow card in a match, as he has issued a second yellow card to the same player an average of 0.04 times per game. This is lower than the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). With relatively few yellow cards initially and few red cards, this suggests a rather successful management strategy.
Penalties –
Regarding penalties, the referee who will officiate this second leg of the Round of 16 is significantly lower than average, awarding 0.12 penalties per game, while the Ligue 1 average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History –
Vincic has refereed PSG four times: a 3-0 victory against AC Milan in the 2023-2024 group stage, a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal in the 2024-2025 league stage, a 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the first leg of the 2024-2025 semi-final, and a 1-1 draw against Newcastle last January.
He has also refereed Chelsea twice: a 2-0 victory against Porto in the 2020-2021 quarter-final and a 3-0 win against FC Barcelona in the 2025-2026 league stage.
