Referee named for Champions League match between Manchester City and Real Madrid

UEFA have appointed German referee Felix Brych as the man in charge of the return leg of the Champions League’s Round of 16 between Manchester City and Real Madrid. Per Realmadrid.com:

Felix Brych will referee the match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 (Friday, 9pm CEST). This will be the tenth time that the German will referee a Real Madrid match in this competition, with the last one being last season, at the same stage against Ajax at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The first match was in the 2009/10 season, in the 1-1 draw against Milan at the San Siro in the group stage. In 2010/11, he refereed the 4-0 against Tottenham in the quarter-finals, while in the 2011/12 campaign, in the same round, he was the referee of the 3-0 away win against APOEL. In 2012/13, he oversaw the home game against Manchester United in the Round of 16, which ended 11; in 2013/14, the win in Copenhagen in the group stage (0-2); and in 2014/15, the 1-0 win against Atletico in the quarter-finals.

The German refereed the Champions League final in 2016/17, when Real Madrid won their twelfth European Cup, against Juventus. The penultimate game that he was in charge of involving Real Madrid was the Round of 16 secon leg in the Champions League 2017/18 against PSG in the Parque de los Principes (1-2).
Source: Realmadrid.com

As you can see, Brych is a very experienced referee, and also a quality one. Toni Kroos will likely be the one taking care of the talks with him for Madrid considering Ramos’ absence and his experience in the Bundesliga, where Brych and Kroos shared many games during the years the midfielder played for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Both teams will play this game knowing that Brych’s decisions should not influence the outcome of the game, which clearly will allow them to focus on the match itself.