Istvan Kovac was delegated by UEFA for the first match of the meeting between “Milan” and “Napoli” in the 1/4 of the Champions League, and the Italian press devoted an article to the Romanian referee.

Istvan Kovac, Gazzetta dello Sport analysis ahead of AC Milan vs Napoli

The journalists of Gazzetta dello Sport talked about the matches of the Italian teams, which are led in the center by a “physical education teacher” from Careia. It brought luck to Serie A teams, but not the Squadra Azzurri.

“Romanian Istvan Kovacs, 38 years old, physical education teacher, will referee the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Milan and Napoli, which will take place the day after tomorrow (excluding Wednesday, April). 12, 22:00) at Meazza Stadium.

Kovacs has three meetings with Italian clubs in the main competitions of the continent. The first took place on October 2, 2019 in the group stage and included Napoli: 0:0 at Genk.

The second leg is on 17 March 2021 in the round of 16: Bayern – Lazio 2-1 (4-1 in the first leg at the Olimpico in February). The last – from September 28, 2021, also in the group phase: “Shakhtior” Donetsk – “Inter” 0:0.

In the current edition, he refereed, among other things, the first leg of the Round of 16, which took place on February 21 between Liverpool and Real Madrid (2-5). In addition, last year he refereed Napoli in the Europa League against Barcelona (1-1) and AC Milan in the previous match of the same tournament (0-1 against Shengdi). In general, the record of Italian teams in Europe with him in the center is 4 wins, 4 draws and a loss.

Apart from club teams, Kovac also has precedent with Roberto Mancini’s Blues (without the Italian national team), who drew with Northern Ireland in Belfast on 15 November 2021 during a World Cup qualifier in Qatar.” – Gazzetta dello Sport.

István Kovacs will judge the match “Milan” – “Napoli”.

At the age of 38, Kovacs will lead the first leg of the meeting between “Milan” and “Napoli” in the center. The game at San Siro will take place on Wednesday, April 12, from 10:00 p.m.

Kovac will be assisted by assistants Vasile Florin Marinescu and Mihai Ovidiu Artene, and the fourth referee will be Horaciu Fesnik.

Germany’s Bastian Dunkert and Marco Fritz will be in the VAR room. The Italian Roberto Rosetti will be the observer from the refereeing team, and the Greek Aristeidis Stavropoulos has been appointed as the delegate of the game.

Know:

• This will be the fifth match that Kovacs will officiate in this edition of the Champions League football, after “Dynamo Zagreb” – “Chelsea” (1-0), “Bruges” – “Atletico” (2-0), “Bayer” – ” Porto” (0-3). ) and Liverpool – Real Madrid (2-5).

• The match between Milan and Napoli can be watched in LiveBLOG format on HotNews.ro and live on Digisport, Orange Sport and Prima Sport.