This Wednesday, as part of matchday 7 of the Champions League 2024-2025 league phase, Paris Saint-Germain (25th) take on Manchester City (22nd) at the Parc des Princes. The referee for the match has been chosen: Szymon Marciniak (43). He has a wealth of experience in the Champions League, with 51 matches to his name.
He will be assisted by Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik. The role of 4th referee will be filled by Damian Kos. Video assistance will be provided by Tomasz Kwiatkowski and Tiago Martins.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Marciniak at the whistle, we can expect yellow cards to be handed out very quickly during the match. Indeed, while the average in Ligue 1 per match is 3.53 (standard deviation 0.39), Wednesday’s referee has given an average of 3.90 yellows per match in his entire Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s very high, let’s hope it’s thanks to dialogue.
Direct red cards –
On the other hand, the man on the whistle this Wednesday is not very severe when it comes to direct exclusions, as he has a very weak tendency when it comes to handing out direct red cards. In fact, Marciniak has given out 0.02 exclusions per match in his career, whereas the French average per match is 0.17 (standard deviation 0.07). Clearly, there’s no question of punishing everyone.
Second yellow cards –
Szymon Marciniak has a habit of sending players off after their first yellow card in a match, giving the same player a second caution an average of 0.10 times per game. This is well above the Ligue 1 average of 0.09 (standard deviation 0.03). With many yellows and few direct reds, it’s actually quite logical.
Penalties –
Finally, when it comes to penalties, the man with the whistle on Wednesday is higher than average, with 0.43 penalties whistled per match, compared with the Ligue 1 average of 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
Painful recent history.
It was he who took charge of the match against Atlético de Madrid in November, with a frustrating defeat conceded in the dying moments despite a very dominant performance. Let’s hope it’s a different story. The good news is that the referee is still one of the elite. It’s up to the Parisians to earn their victory.
