On Tuesday, January 20, as part of Matchday 7 of the 2025-2026 Champions League group stage, Paris Saint-Germain (3rd) will face Sporting Lisbon (14th) at the Estádio José Alvalade (kick-off at 9 pm, CET). The referee for the match has been chosen: Antony Taylor (47 years old). He has significant Champions League experience, having officiated 41 matches.
He will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn. The fourth official will be Robert Jones. Video assistant refereeing (VAR) will be provided by Jarred Gillett and Michael Salisbury.
Yellow cards –
With Mr. Taylor in charge, we can expect yellow cards to be shown very early in the match. Indeed, while the French average per match is 3.53 yellow cards (standard deviation of 0.39), Tuesday’s referee has averaged 4.46 yellow cards per match throughout his Champions League career (Transfermarkt figures). That’s very high; let’s hope he doesn’t neglect dialogue and promotes a tension-free match.
Direct Red Cards –
The referee is far less strict when it comes to direct red cards. Taylor averages 0.02 dismissals per match in his career, while the French average is 0.17 per match (standard deviation of 0.07). The difference is enormous; he seems to be dismissing the sanction indiscriminately.
Second Yellow Cards –
Anthony Taylor tends to send off a player after their first yellow card in a match, as he has given a second yellow card to the same player an average of 0.10 times per match. This is higher than the French average, which stands at 0.09 (standard deviation of 0.03). With a lot of yellow cards initially, it’s not actually that many. It’s more of a difficult sending-off.
Penalties –
Regarding penalties, the man who will referee the final is below average with 0.32 penalties awarded per match, while in Ligue 1 the average is 0.34 (standard deviation of 0.08).
History –
Taylor has refereed PSG 5 times: 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses.
Sporting Portugal 1 time: 1 loss
