This Wednesday, as part of Day 1 of the Champions League 2024-2025 league phase, Paris Saint-Germain take on Girona at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 9pm, broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been chosen: Daniel Siebert (43). He has a wealth of experience, including 171 Bundesliga games and 13 Champions League appearances, as well as 2 at Euro 2024.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn. Daniel Schlager will act as 4th referee. Video assistance will be provided by Christian Dingert and Bastian Dankert.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Siebert on the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to be handed 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 3.97 yellows per game throughout his career in the Bundesliga and Champions League (Transfermarkt figures). Let’s hope he’s always right.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle this Wednesday is far less evasive when it comes to direct exclusions, as he has a very low tendency to hand out direct red cards. In fact, Batta has given out 0.07 exclusions per match in his career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation of 0.07). Clearly, he prefers to warn rather than exclude.
Second yellow cards –
Daniel Siebert 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 0.07 times per game.This is lower than the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With so many yellows and so few reds, it’s hardly surprising.There was reason to believe that second yellows were more frequent.
Penaltys –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man at the whistle on Sunday was lower than average, with 0.22 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History with PSG –
Daniel Siebert has refereed the Parisian club twice in his career, with 5-0 victories over Brugge in the 2019-2020 group stage and 3-1 over Maccabi Haifa in the 2022-2023 group stage.A fine record to continue.
