CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Who is Jesús Gil Manzano, the referee for Manchester City vs Bayern Munich quarterfinal first leg?
It’s the standout tie of the Champions League last eight, and a Spaniard has been chosen for the Pep Guardiola-Thomas Tuchel clash in Manchester.
What a game we have to look forward to on Tuesday evening as two juggernauts of the modern game lock horns for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City welcome newly-appointed Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich to the Etihad as another continental triumph is dreamed of. And for this game, a compatriot of the Spanish coach will be the man with the whistle.
- Manchester City vs Bayern Munich: Follow the live action here!
Who is referee Gil Manzano?
Jesús Gil Manzano is a LaLiga referee who started officiating in the Spanish top-flight league during the 2012/13 season. He was later added to FIFA’s list of international referees in 2014. Born in Don Benito, a town located in the western Spanish region of Extremadura, Gil Manzano is remembered by many for an incident that featured a former Guardiola student.
It came in the 2021 Spanish Super Cup final between Barcelona and Athletic Club, which ended in a 3-2 defeat for Barcelona, and where Gil Manzano showed a red card to Barça captain, Lionel Messi, marking the first red card of his club career.
Gil Manzano became the youngest Spanish official to be promoted to the category of FIFA international referee at the age of 29. Since then, he has officiated in various high-profile competitions, including the Champions League, the Europa League, the 2018 World Cup qualifying, Euro 2020 qualifying, and the UEFA Nations League.
This season he has already had 28 games in charge and in that time has handed out 144 yellow cards and shown eight reds. Players will be mindful that in the recent Champions League England-Germany clash between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund he took down a total of 10 names in his little book. In his last game, Villarreal 2-0 Real Sociedad at the weekend, he brandished six yellows, one red, and pointed to the spot. Decent going.
Who is the VAR for Man City vs Bayern?
Major decisions in the modern game often fall to the official off the pitch, the Video Assistant Referee sitting in a little box with a bunch of screens. For this game, that responsibility goes to Juan Martínez Munuera and he will be assisted (yes, there’s a AVAR) by Alejandro Hernández. Our fourth official at the Etihad, who may need to control the tempers of our two managers on the touchline will be José Luis Munuera.