Celtic’s Referee for Champions League Opener

Danny Makkelie of the Netherlands will officiate the Champions League opener between Celtic and Slovan Bratislava. [UEFA]

Makkelie is a seasoned referee with a significant presence in European Football.

Looking at his track record from the last Champions League season, Makkelie’s approach tends to be consistent, with an average distribution of yellow cards that reflects his control over the Game. His assignments last season included: [Transfermarkt]

• Inter vs. Benfica: 4 yellow cards
• Napoli vs. Union Berlin: 4 yellow cards
• Young Boys vs. Red Star: 0 yellow cards
• Newcastle vs. Milan: 7 yellow cards
• Barcelona vs. Napoli: 5 yellow cards
• Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal: 4 yellow cards

Makkelie also has experience with Celtic, having refereed their 2017 match against Bayern Munich at Celtic Park, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for Celtic.

Celtic get their campaign underway in the new format at home as they look for their first opening win in 13 attempts. They have two draws and ten losses in their last twelve opening Champions League matches, something that Brendan Rodgers will look to put an end to on Wednesday.

The new format gives Celtic a great opportunity to progress in Europe, but they’ll need to get results against tough opponents before looking to the knock put stages of the comPetition.