This Wednesday, as part of the Champions League 2024-2025 quarter-finals (return on March 15), Paris Saint-Germain take on Aston Villa at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 9pm, CET). Maurizio Mariani (43) has been chosen to referee the match. He has little experience of the Champions League, with 9 matches to his name.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni. Simone Sozza will act as 4th referee. Video assistance will be provided by Marco Di Bello and Luca Pairetto.
Yellow cards –
With Mr Mariani at the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to come out very quickly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per game is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Wednesday’s referee has given an average of 4.67 yellows per game in his entire Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). This is very high, so the players will have to be careful. So much the better.
Direct red cards –
The man with the whistle on Wednesday was not too severe when it came to direct red cards. Indeed, Mariani has been sent off 0.11 times per match (1 in the LDC) in his career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). It’s not a question of sanctioning in all directions.
Second yellow cards –
Maurizio Mariani is “rather” used to sending off a player after his first yellow card in a match, as he gave the same player a second warning an average of 0.11 times per match. This is higher than the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With a lot of yellows to begin with, this is relatively logical.
Penalties –
As for penalties, the man with the whistle on Wednesday is well above average, with 0.55 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08). He therefore has no hesitation in choosing this penalty.
History –
PSG have yet to cross paths with Mariani, but Lille beat Real Madrid in the league phase (1-0) with the Italian at the whistle, while Monaco lost to Benfica 0-1 in the play-offs for the French clubs. Aston Villa beat RB Leipzig 2-3 in the league phase in December.
