UEFA has appointed Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic to officiate Wednesday’s crucial Champions League group stage fixture between Sporting Lisbon and Olympique Marseille, marking his second assignment involving a Portuguese club in the competition’s main phase.
The 35-year-old official previously oversaw Benfica’s 3-2 away victory against Monaco in the Champions League group stage on November 27, 2024.
Obrenovic also has a history with Portuguese club football from a high-profile Youth League derby in 2022. In that match, Benfica defeated Sporting 4-0, a result that helped Benfica advance to the semi-finals and ultimately win the competition.
The upcoming third-round match holds significant weight, with both Sporting and Marseille currently tied with three points each in their group standings.
The officiating team for the game at Estádio José Alvalade includes assistants Jure Praprotnik and Grega Kordez. Martin Matosa will serve as the fourth referee.
Matej Jug is designated as the video assistant referee (VAR), with Belgium’s Bram Van Driessche acting as the assistant VAR (AVAR).
The match is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 PM local time (UTC+1) in Lisbon.
In their initial Champions League outings, Sporting secured a 4-1 victory over Kairat Almaty but suffered a 2-1 defeat against Napoli.
Marseille’s campaign has seen them lose 2-1 to Real Madrid before achieving a dominant 4-0 win against Ajax.