According to Spain’s Sport, Bayern Munich will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Although Bayern are considered favorites due to their better form, there are internal concerns within the club about potentially unfavorable refereeing decisions—and these concerns are not without reason.

First, the VIP box at the Santiago Bernabéu will be in the spotlight. Following the resolution of the European Super League dispute, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin will attend the match in person and hold a public meeting with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. Čeferin had previously accepted Pérez’s invitation and recently reached a reconciliation with Real Madrid at a UEFA congress.

For years, Pérez and Čeferin were bitter rivals, even taking legal action against each other. UEFA had viewed the Super League project—led by Real Madrid and other European giants—as a major threat, but the two sides have now made peace. In addition to the Bernabéu, Čeferin is also expected to attend the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool in Paris. Notably, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi played a key role in mediating between the sides and was a strong UEFA ally during the battle against the Super League.

Furthermore, Bayern’s last two visits to the Bernabéu were marred by highly controversial refereeing decisions. Two years ago, Real Madrid eliminated Bayern in the knockout stage en route to the final. At the time, Matthijs de Ligt appeared to equalize, but the referee blew the whistle before his shot, rendering the goal invalid. Because the whistle came too early, VAR could not intervene.

In their 2017 encounter, the referee also disallowed a one-on-one chance for Robert Lewandowski and sent off Arturo Vidal. Then Bayern head coach Carlo Ancelotti also claimed that two of Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals were offside.

Sport adds that the referee appointment for the upcoming clash has also sparked debate. The match will be officiated by English referee Michael Oliver, who has overseen four Real Madrid matches, with a record of three wins and one loss for the Spanish side. That lone defeat, however, was the most controversial one: in the 2017–18 Champions League quarter-final second leg, Real Madrid were awarded a stoppage-time penalty, which Ronaldo converted, knocking Juventus out 4–3 on aggregate. Gianluigi Buffon furiously confronted Oliver after the match and was subsequently banned for three games.

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