Who is Nikola Dabanovic, the referee for Liverpool - Bologna in the Champions League today?

Montenegrin referee Nikola Dabanovic will take charge of Liverpool and Bologna’s Champions League clash at Anfield today, on matchday two of the competition’s new league phase.

What is Nikola Dabanovic’s UCL record?

Dabanovic will be overseeing only the second Champions League match of his officiating career. The 42-year-old’s sole previous appearance in Europe’s elite club tournament came in October 2022, when he refereed Bayern Munich’s 5-0 group-stage thrashing of Viktoria Plzen.

Dabanovic is by no means new to European competition as a whole, however. Since 2017, the Podgorica native has handled 23 games across the Europa League and Conference League, including four knockout ties.

In his 24 games in Europe’s three major club tournaments, Dabanovic has averaged 3.5 yellow cards per match, and has shown a total of two red cards.

Today’s game on Merseyside will be the first time Dabanovic has crossed paths with either Liverpool or Bologna.

Liverpool up against Italians again

Liverpool face Serie A opposition for the second straight Champions League game, having claimed a 3-1 victory over AC Milan on matchday one two weeks ago, thanks to goals by Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai. Bologna, meanwhile, began their first ever Champions League campaign with a 0-0 draw at home to Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk.

Under the new league-phase format, the top eight finishers in a 36-team table will qualify for the Champions League’s last 16, with the clubs in ninth to 24th heading into a playoff for a place in the knockout stage proper.

Liverpool vs Bologna: start time, how to watch

Liverpool vs Bologna is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET/12 noon PT. Viewers in the United States will be able to watch the matchday-two game on Paramount+ and Vix.

Who is the VAR? Full list of Liverpool vs Bologna officials

Dabanovic’s assistant referees at Anfield will be countrymen Vladan Todorovic and Srdan Jovanovic, and the fourth official will be Milos Boskovic, also from Montenegro. The video assistant referee (VAR) will be Poland’s Tomasz Kwiatkowski, and the assistant VAR will be Spain’s Carlos del Cerro Grande.