Frenchman François Letexier will referee Sporting’s visit to Arsenal on Wednesday, in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, UEFA announced today.
Letexier, 36, will have compatriots Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni as assistants, while German Bastian Dankert will be the video assistant referee (VAR).
The Frenchman will referee a Sporting match for the fourth time, his first in the Champions League, after having officiated three Europa League games, always at Alvalade, with Sporting never losing to Letexier.
In 2018/19, Letexier officiated Sporting’s victory over Qarabag (2-0), followed by 1-1 draws against Midtjylland and Juventus, both in the 2022/23 season.
Sporting visits Arsenal on Wednesday (8 PM), after the ‘Gunners’ won 1-0 at Alvalade, with a goal from German Kai Havertz in the 90th minute.
Referee of the ‘Prestianni case’
François Letexier was recently in Portugal, on February 17th of this year, as the referee for the match between Benfica and Real Madrid (0-1), the first leg of the Champions League playoff for access to the round of 16, which was marked by the ‘Prestianni case’.
The French referee activated the anti-racism protocol in the second half, after Vinícius Júnior accused the Benfica forward of calling him “mono” [monkey]. The game was interrupted for several minutes, but was eventually resumed and played until the end.
However, UEFA would eventually suspend Prestianni for the second leg as a precautionary measure, but has yet to make a final decision on the case, which continues to generate much discussion.
