Who is Danny Makkelie, the referee for the Atlético Madrid-Arsenal Champions League semi-final first leg

UEFA has tapped Dutch referee Danny Makkelie to take charge of Wednesday’s first leg between Atlético Madrid and Arsenal in the Champions League semifinals. The match kicks off at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12 noon PDT at the Metropolitano in Madrid.

Makkelie will work with an all‑Dutch crew: Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries as assistant referees, Serdar Gözübüyük as fourth official, and Dennis Higler and Pol van Boekel overseeing VAR.

Makkelie oversaw Atlético fightback at Anfield

The 43‑year‑old, an international referee since 2011, has officiated Atlético Madrid seven times, including their memorable comeback win over Liverpool in the 2019–20 Last 16. His most recent assignment with the Spanish club came in November 2024 against Slavia Prague.

Arsenal is also familiar with him. Makkelie has refereed the Gunners four times — three in the Champions League and once in the Europa League back in May 2019. The latest meeting was their 2–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 back in March.

Discipline on the field of play

Makkelie has overseen 59 matches in the Champions League, dishing out 214 yellow cards in total so far. He takes no nonsense out on the field of play and has sent 10 players off - three for a direct red (Benfica’s Arthur Cabral, Red Bull Salzburg’s Alexander Schlager and Atleti’s Felipe).

He has awarded a total of 21 penalties - including three in the same match on two occasions, with Chelsea and Barcelona being the beneficiaries.

This will be his eighth match assignment in this edition of the tournament

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