This Sunday, as part of Matchday 1 of the 2025 Club World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain take on Atlético de Madrid at the Rose Bowl Stadium (kick-off 9pm, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Istvan Kovacs (40). He has some interesting experience, without being a great veteran of the Champions League (which will serve as a benchmark), with 30 matches under his belt.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Gwenaël Pasqualotti and François Boudikian. Robin Chapapria will act as 4th referee. Video assistance will be provided by Bruno Coue and Mehdi Mokhtari.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Kovacs on the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to be handed out very quickly during the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), the referee this Sunday gave out an average of 4.67 yellows per match in his entire Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). It’s a high number, but let’s hope it’s not one that forgets dialogue, but rather one that avoids the build-up of tension.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle on Sunday was far less severe when it came to direct red cards. In fact, Kovacs has given out 0.10 red cards per match in his career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). This suggests good management, which is interesting.
Second yellow cards –
Istvan Kovacs is not in the habit of sending off a player after his first yellow card in a match, as he issued a second caution to the same player an average of 0.67 times per game. This is lower than the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With so many yellows in the first instance, this lends credence to the idea of a warning to calm tempers.
Penaltys –
As far as penalties are concerned, the man in charge of this match is well above average, with 0.43 whistled per game, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08).
History –
Kovacs has refereed PSG 6 times: against Galatasaray in 2019 (5-0), Newcastle in 2023 (4-1 defeat), Barcelona in 2024 (1-4 victory), Bayern Munich in 2024 (1-0 defeat); Liverpool (0-1 victory) in the second leg of the Round of 16 in 2025. Also (and above all), there was the Champions League final on May 31, won 5-0 against Inter Milan.
3 times Atlético Madrid: against Manchester City (1-0 defeat) in 2022, Brugge (2-0 defeat) in 2022 and Inter Milan (1-0 defeat) in 2024. A far less pleasing record, then.
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