Cakir is the ideal referee for pressure-cooker atmospheres
Cakir won't be cowed by Calderón cauldron
Cüneyt Cakir is an official who is used to refereeing in highly charged atmospheres. After all, that's what he tends to be up against in his native Turkey. The climate in the Calderón will be nothing he hasn't seen before; he won't be fazed by it whatsoever, and it won't have any impact on his decision-making ability.
As is likewise the case with the referees we have in Spain, Cakir - who has five years left at the elite level - is held in higher regard outside of his own country.
The 40-year-old is a man with a Champions League final on his CV, having been given the 2015 trophy decider in Berlin. He was also fourth official in 2014 in Lisbon.
Cakir: seventh Real Madrid game, second involving Atlético
Cakir has refereed Real six times, most recently in their 3-1 last-16 second-leg victory at Napoli. He also oversaw Los Blancos last term in their 2-0 group-stage win at Malmö and their goalless semi-final opener at Manchester City, while in 2012/13 he was the man in the middle for the holders' 2-2 group draw with Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabéu, and for their last-16 return at Manchester United (1-2). In the 2011/12 round-robin phase, he whistled Real's 4-0 home triumph over Lyon.
He has only taken charge of one Atlético match: Los Rojiblancos' 2015/16 semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich - a night on which Diego Simeone's men lost 2-1 but made the final.