With memories of Morocco… Buffon’s ‘kick’ decision sets the stage for the clash between Real Madrid and Bayern

Given the sensitivity of the upcoming fixture, the choice fell on the renowned English referee Michael Oliver.

This will be the fifth match Oliver has refereed involving Real Madrid in European competitions, with mixed results in previous encounters, most notably a 3-1 defeat to Juventus in the second leg of the 2017/18 Champions League quarter-finals, alongside a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup.

The English referee has also officiated two other matches involving Real Madrid, in which they beat Sporting Braga 2-1 in the group stage of the 2023/24 season and Olympiacos 4-3 in the 2025/26 edition.

That Juventus match saw a controversial incident, after Oliver awarded a famous penalty to Real Madrid in the dying minutes against Juventus’ Moroccan defender Mehdi Benatia, and sent off legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for protesting.

Cristiano Ronaldo successfully converted the penalty, seeing Real Madrid through to the semi-finals with a 4-3 aggregate score, and continuing their march towards the title.

Oliver has a relatively good track record with Bayern Munich, having refereed several matches for the Bavarian side in various competitions, during which he has produced strong results.

Among the most notable of these matches were Bayern’s 4-2 victory over Flamengo in the 2025 Club World Cup, as well as their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024/25 Champions League.

The English referee also oversaw an important Bayern victory over Paris Saint-Germain (1-0) in the 2022/23 season, a 1-1 draw against Red Bull Salzburg in the 2021/22 season, and a resounding 3-0 win over Barcelona in the 2017/18 season.

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