CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Who is Carlos del Cerro Grande, the referee for Inter vs Benfica?
Spaniard Del Cerro Grande will be the whistler for Inter and Benfica’s Champions League quarter-final clash at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Spain’s Carlos del Cerro Grande will be the match referee when Inter Milan host Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
After winning the first leg in Lisbon 2-0 last week, Inter are on the verge of setting up a semi-final clash with city rivals AC Milan, who have reached the last four after knocking out fellow Italians Napoli.
- Inter Milan vs Benfica: Follow the live action here!
Who is Carlos del Cerro Grande?
Born in Alcalá de Henares, on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, Madrid, the 47-year-old has been a LaLiga referee since 2011, taking charge of over 230 league games since his top-flight debut 12 years ago.
A FIFA international referee since 2013, Del Cerro Grande made his Champions League bow in September 2018, overseeing a 3-0 group-stage win for Ajax over AEK Athens.
Only one straight red in Del Cerro Grande’s UCL career
In all, he has refereed 22 matches in Europe’s elite club competition, three this season. The Spaniard was appointed to Napoli’s 4-1 win over Liverpool in September, Tottenham’s 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in October, and Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 triumph over Juventus in November.
The trio of fixtures, all in the group stage, saw Del Cerro Grande issue 13 yellow cards, which included two bookings for Frankfurt’s Tuta in North London. The referee is still to show anyone a straight red card in this term’s Champions League; indeed, he has only ever directly dismissed one player in the tournament: Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can in 2021.
Del Cerro Grande’s Inter, Benfica experience
Inter vs Benfica will be the seventh Champions League knockout-stage assignment of Del Cerro Grande’s career, and his third in the quarter-finals. He is yet to referee a game beyond the last eight.
Del Cerro Grande has twice before crossed paths with Benfica in the Champions League. He took charge of the Portuguese club’s 3-1 group-stage defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in 2019/20, and As Águias’ 1-0 last-16 win over Ajax in 2021/22.
Meanwhile, although he has never previously been given an Inter match in the competition, the madrileño has been the man in the middle for games involving the Nerazzurri in the Europa League, the continent’s second-tier club tournament. Del Cerro Grande oversaw Inter’s 2-0 last-32 victory over Ludogorets in 2019/20, and their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the same campaign.
Across his four appointments to Inter or Benfica fixtures, Del Cerro Grande has averaged four yellow cards per game, has shown no red cards (either direct or for two bookings), and awarded one penalty. That spot-kick, converted by Romelu Lukaku, was given to the Italians in stoppage time in their win over Ludogorets.
Appointed to Copa final, Euro 2020...
In Spanish soccer, Del Cerro Grande has been assigned to two showpiece events - the 2016 Copa del Rey final and the 2018 Spanish Super Cup - both of which saw Barcelona beat Sevilla.
He has also been handed high-profile club games in the Saudi, Greek and Egyptian leagues, and at international level he made his major-tournament debut at Euro 2020. The official refereed two group-phase games at the event: France’s 1-0 win over Germany, and Croatia’s 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic.
Del Cerro Grande’s assistants for Inter vs Benfica
In Milan on Wednesday, Del Cerro Grande’s assistant referees will be Diego Barbero Sevilla and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso. The fourth official will be César Soto Grado, and the video assistant referee (VAR) will be Juan Martínez Munuera. The assistant VAR will be Alejandro Hernández Hernández.