Who is Michael Oliver, the referee for Portugal - France at Euro 2024?

The Portugal vs. France match, the second and last today’s Euro 2024 quarterfinals games, will be under the watchful eye of English referee Michael Oliver. Portugal and France meet at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion, and the winner will play Spain, who beat Germany earlier, in the semifinals on Tuesday, July 9.

Who is Michael Oliver?

This match will be Oliver’s fourth game at Euro 2024. So far, his three appearances also had big-name involvements, and none of them ended scoreless. The 39-year-old ran the rule over Spain’s crushing victory 3-0 over Croatia on matchday one of Group B and Group E’s Ukraine late comeback win against Slovakia on matchday 2. Moreover, Oliver took charge of the game between Germany and Denmark in the round of 16, which ended with a 2-0 win for the Germans.

Criticized during the 2020/21 Euro edition

Oliver is appearing at his second European Championship finals, having refereed three games at the covid-delayed Euro 2020 three years ago. He is best remembered for Spain’s quarterfinal game against Switzerland, in which midfielder Remo Freuler was sent off after a tackle on Spanish striker Gerard Moreno. The decision was considered controversial by many, as Freuler got to the ball first; however, that didn’t stop Oliver from considering it an over the top tackle on the Spanish player.

The Englishman has shown six yellow cards during this 2024 tournament and is only two yellow cards away from reaching his record during the last edition of the Euro. At Germany 2024, Oliver is yet to send a player off.

Few involvements in France’s games

Michael Oliver was among the referees at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, taking charge of three games, including Croatia’s victory 4-2 on penalties over Brazil. What’s more, Oliver’s card record during the World Cup was six per game. It’s well known that the Englishman doesn’t hesitate to book if necessary.

Although Oliver has a long trajectory in international games, this will be only his second time in charge of a France game. His previous game was during the Euro 2020/21 Group stage when Hungary came close to surprising group favorites France. Fiola gave the lead to the Hungarians, however Griezmann saved the game for France, securing their place in the round of 16.

Controversy during the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League

Born in Ashington, United Kingdom, in 1985, Oliver started his career at the age of 14 and obtained his UEFA license in 2013. Among his most (un) memorable moments as European referee is the game between Real Madrid and Juventus during the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2017/18 quarterfinals.

Juventus had stunned the Santiago Bernabeu with a Real Madrid look-a-like comeback, forcing the game to extra time. However, in the last breath of the game, Benatia pushed Lucas Vázquez inside the box, and Oliver awarded Real Madrid a late penalty. To spice things up even more, Buffon was sent off for exploding in rage against the Englishman, and Cristiano Ronaldo sent Real Madrid through the semifinals in the most controversial match of that Champions League edition.

Portugal vs France: start time, how to watch

The Euro 2024 quarterfinal between Portugal and France takes place today, Friday, July 5, 2024, with kick-off at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg scheduled for 3 pm ET.

Who are Michael Oliver’s assistant referees? Who is the VAR?

Taylor’s assistant referees in Hamburg will be compatriots Stuart Burt and Dan Cook. The fourth official will be Poland’s Szymon Marciniak. The video assistant referee (VAR) will be Netherlands’s Pol van Boekel. The first assistant VAR (AVAR) will be England’s David Coote, and the second AVAR will be Poland’s Tomasz Kwiatkowski.