This Sunday, as part of the Club World Cup 2025 Round of 8, Paris Saint-Germain take on Inter Miami at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (kick-off 9pm CET, broadcast on DAZN). The referee for the match has been chosen: Brazilian Walter Sampaio (43). He has a wealth of experience in the Copa Libertadores, with 48 matches to his name.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Sampaio at the helm, we can expect yellow cards to come out very easily during the match. Indeed, while the French average per game is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Sunday’s referee has given an average of 5.42 yellows per game throughout his Libertadores career (Transfermarkt figures). This is very high, so let’s hope the players are protected in forgetting about the dialogue.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle this Sunday is far less severe when it comes to direct red cards. Indeed, Sampaio’s career average is 0.13 red cards per match, compared with the French average of 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). Let’s hope that this is not an unjustified severity.
Second yellow cards –
Walter Sampaio has a habit of sending off a player after his first yellow card in a match, as he has given the same player a second caution an average of 0.17 times per match. This is well above the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With a lot of yellows in the first instance and rather few reds, this is relatively logical.
Penaltys –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man on the whistle on Sunday is lower than the French average, with 0.31 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
