This Wednesday, as part of the Ligue 1 2024-2025 round of 16 (return leg Tuesday March 11), Paris Saint-Germain will face Liverpool at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 9pm, broadcast on Canal+). The referee for the match has been chosen: Davide Massa (43). He has extensive experience in the Champions League, with 23 matches to his name.
The man with the whistle will be assisted by Ciro Carbone and Stefano Alassio. The 4th referee will be Maurizio Mariani. Video assistance will be provided by Aleandro Di Paolo and Daniele Chiffi.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Massa on the whistle, it’s to be expected that yellow cards will come out rather poorly 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 3.39 yellows per game throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s low, and let’s hope it’s thanks to dialogue and good management. Not by letting the blows pile up.
Direct red cards –
The man on the whistle on Wednesday was equally harsh when it came to red cards. In fact, Massa has shown 0.13 red cards per game in his Champions League career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). We can only hope that this is down to management.
Second yellow cards –
Davide Massa has a habit of sending players off after their first yellow card in a match, as he issued a second caution to the same player an average of 0.09 times per match. This is on a par with the French average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With few yellows and reds, it’s almost high. So you have to pay close attention to cautions.
Penaltys –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man on the whistle on Wednesday is higher than average with 0.30 penalties whistled per match, whereas in the Champions League the average is 0.34 (standard deviation 0.08).
History –
Davide Massa has never refereed Liverpool in the Champions League yet, but he has already come up against PSG, and it was this season with the successful trip to Stuttgart on the final day of the league phase. A 1-4 success that we’re looking forward to seeing again.
