This Tuesday, May 1, Paris Saint-Germain faces Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park for the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. As in the first leg against Barcelona in the quarter-finals (2-3 defeat), English referee Anthony Taylor was appointed by UEFA to take his whistle in front of the 22 players in the match.
This is the first time that the 45-year-old referee has officiated at this stage of the competition. He notably wore his UEFA-branded tunic for the Europa League final last year, won by Sevilla FC against Roma on penalties (1-1, 5 tab to 2).
Already there against Barça
Anthony Taylor will referee the Parisians for the eighth time in his career. The capital club maintains a positive record with five victories, a draw and a defeat when the Briton was on the whistle. The last time their paths crossed was a bad memory for the Rouge et Bleu since it was the defeat against Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg, lost at the Parc des Princes on April 10 (2-3).
An episode quickly erased by the return match and the qualification of PSG for the last four of the competition a week later (1-4). Taylor had notably sent 6 yellow cards, including two on the Parisian side on the lawn of the Parc des Princes.
The 45-year-old referee also officiated during the meeting between Atalanta and PSG in August 2020, after which the French qualified for the semi-finals of a Champions League during the crisis of Covid-19 (2-1). The Englishman refereed the draw between West Ham and Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend (2-2).
