UEFA has announced the referee who will officiate the Champions League semi-final second leg between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday evening.
UEFA decided to appoint Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro (38 years old) to manage this "decisive" match between Bayern Munich of Germany and Paris Saint-Germain of France, at the Allianz Arena, in an unexpected move by the European Football Association, as Pinheiro has never managed a match in this advanced stage of the tournament.
The most notable match he has officiated in the Champions League so far is the one between Aston Villa of England and Club Brugge of Belgium in the round of 16 of last season's edition, making this match the biggest test of his refereeing career so far.
Despite his recent experience with major matches, the Portuguese referee has previously officiated matches involving Paris Saint-Germain, as he was the fourth official in the final that the Parisian team won against Inter Milan (5-0), and he also officiated the European Super Cup match that the French club won against Tottenham.
As for Bayern Munich, Pinheiro has officiated two Champions League matches for the Bavarian team, both of which ended in victories for the German team: the first against Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia in 2025, and the second against PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands in 2026.
It is worth noting that the first leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and their guest Bayern Munich ended with the Parisian team winning by five goals to four.
