Liverpool - Barcelona referee confirmed as Cüneyt Çakir
UEFA have confirmed that the Turkish official will take charge of the Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield as The Reds look for a miracle.
Referee Cüneyt Çakir will be the man blowing the whistle in the Champions League semi-final second leg between Liverpool and Barcelona on Tuesday 7 May 2019. The game at Anfield kicks off at 21:00 CEST and the Spanish giants take a 3-0 lead from the Camp Nou clash.
Çakir officiates at Anfield
The experienced referee may well need some extra puff at The Reds' home ground to make himself heard, with the Anfield atmosphere on a European night regarded as one of the best in world football. This will be the 45th UEFA Champions League game officiated by the 42-year old, and will be his seventh semi-final (he has also taken control of one final). A game in particular that made headlines around Europe was that between Manchester United and Real Madrid. Çakir controversially showed a red card to United's Portuguese star Nani in the second leg at Old Trafford, a turning point in a game that would prove to be Sir Alex Ferguson's last ever game in the competition.
Barça have never lost with Çakir
It will be the ninth time that Çakir has refereed a match with Barça. On the previous eight occasions the LaLiga champions have never been beaten. Two notable examples from those are the 2015 Champions League final (3-1 victory over Juventus) and the 6-1 demolition of Roma in 2015/16. He has also been to Anfield already this year, where he watched Liverpool dominate the much-fancied PSG, despite having to rely on a late Firmino winner.
Çakir's assistant referees on the night will be Bahattin Duran and Tarık Ongün, along with Portugal's Artur Soares Dias as the fourth referee and Germany's Felix Zwayer and Sascha Stegemann on VAR duty.