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UEFA have appointed German referee Felix Byrch as the man in charge of Tuesday’s meeting between Real Madrid and Ajax in the return leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
Per Realmadrid.com
Felix Brych will referee the second leg of the Champions League last-sixteen between Real Madrid and Ajax at the Santiago Bernabéu (Tuesday 9:00pm CET). It will be the ninth time the German official has refereed the Whites in this competition. The last time came in last season’s Champions League last-sixteen return leg between Real Madrid and PSG at the Parc des Princes (1-2).
His first game involving Real Madrid came in the 2009/10 campaign, in a 1-1 draw with Milan at the San Siro in the Group Stage. In 2010/11, he oversaw the 4-0 win over Tottenham in the quarter-finals. At the same stage in 2011/12, he refereed the win over APOEL (0-3). In 2012/13 he took charge of the 1-1 with Manchester United at home in the last-sixteen; in 2013/14, it was the win in Copenhagen in the Group Stage (0-2), and 2014/15 saw him take charge of the 1-0 quarter-final win over Atlético. Prior to last season’s clash with PSG, he also oversaw the Champions League final 2016/17, which saw Real Madrid win la Duodécima against Juventus. UEFA have assigned the German official Bastian Dankert as the VAR official.
Byrch is a quality referee who definitely has the experience for this kind of game. Real Madrid will be expected to take care of business against Ajax, especially after the solid 1-2 lead they earned at Amsterdam. Still, Los Blancos will be without team captain Sergio Ramos, they might need to defend well in order to avoid any kind of scare.