Champions: German referee Markus Merk appointed for semi-final on Wednesday

The UEFA Referees Committee has announced the referee for the return leg of the
2005/06 UEFA Champions League semi-final to be played at the Camp Nou in
Barcelona on Wednesday 26 April, kicking-off at 19.45 BST (TV Live from 19.00 on SKY)

The match between FC Barcelona and AC Milan will be handled by 44-year-old German
referee Markus Merk. It will be his second visit to the Camp Nou this season, as he also handled the return leg of the first knock-out round tie between FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC.

Markus Merk was the referee at the UEFA EURO 2004 final in Lisbon between Portugal and Greece and for the 2003 UEFA Champions League final between AC Milan and Juventus at Old Trafford, Manchester. Going further back, he was the referee when FC Barcelona won the UEFA Cup Winners’Cup in the 1997 final against Paris Saint-Germain FC in Rotterdam.

In Barcelona, he will be assisted by Christian Schräer and Jan-Hendrik Salver, with
Michael Weiner acting as Fourth Official. All four members of the team are from
Germany. The winner of this semi-final (1-0 in FC Barcelona’s favour after the first leg) will be considered the ‘home team’ at the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League final to be played at the Stade de France in Paris Saint-Denis on Wednesday 17 May.

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