Who is Maurizio Mariani, referee for Liverpool vs PSG, Champions League quarterfinal second leg?

Anfield has witnessed many extraordinary comebacks in Europe, where the team has defied the odds to overturn seemingly impossible scorelines. Arne Slot’s men go into this evening’s Champions League quarter final return leg in such a position. Trailing 2-0 from last week’s first leg in Paris, the Reds require more than a bit of luck if they are to defeat the cup holders and advance into the next round.

Lucho’s early bath

Ensuring tonight’s game runs smoothly will be Italian match official Maurizio Mariani - a referee who has crossed paths with both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in this competition in the past. Mariani oversaw Liverpool’s 3-2 home win against Atlético Madrid back in September. He was in charge of last year’s quarter final return leg at Parc des Princes in which PSG beat Aston Villa 3-1, as well as the matchday 4 defeat to Bayern Munich - a game in which he sent Luis Díaz off for a reckless tackle on Achraf Hakimi.

The Colombian was one of three players who Mariani has ordered back to the dressing room during the 34 Champions League game he has reffed and the second to receive a direct red. Antwerp’s Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Monaco’s Moatasem Al-Musrati were the other two sent for an early bath. Overall he has dished out a total of 69 yellow cards and awarded 17 penalties - including two for Arsenal in their 1-2 victory against Girona in last year’s edition.

He has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2019 and gained his VAR badge in 2021. He was designated to oversee the recent 2026 World Cup playoff between Czech Republic and Denmark and has officiated five World Cup qualifiers. Mariani refereed the 2025 Coppa Italia final between AC Milan and Bologna.

This evening at Anfield, Mariani will be accompanied by his usual crew: line officials Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni, fourth official Matteo Marchetti with Marco Di Bello and Aleandro Di Paolo poised by their monitors in the VAR booth.

Tonight’s quarter final return leg leg at Anfield kicks off at 3:00 p.m. EDT / 12 noon PDT and will be broadcast live on Paramount+ and ViX.

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