October 12, 2026
The European Football Association (UEFA) announced the appointment of French referee François Letexier to manage the upcoming confrontation between Roma and Real Madrid, scheduled to be held next Wednesday at the Olimpico Stadium, as part of the Champions League competitions, while Dutchman Dennis Hegler will manage the video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
According to what was reported by the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”, Letxier (37 years old) is a regular face in Real Madrid’s matches in the continental competition, as he previously managed six matches for them, during which the royal team achieved three victories, one draw, and suffered two defeats.
The French referee’s first matches with the “Merengue” go back to the 2022-2023 season, when he led the first leg of the quarter-finals against Chelsea, which ended with Real Madrid winning with two unanswered goals at the “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium. On the other hand, his most recent position with the team was in the first leg of the qualifying play-off to the round of 16 last season against Benfica of Portugal, which Real Madrid won with a clean goal scored by Brazilian star Vinicius Junior. That night witnessed the expulsion of Benfica’s coach at the time, Jose Mourinho, after receiving two yellow cards in objection to the referee’s decisions, leaving him absent from the bench in the return match.
As for Roma, Leixier has never managed any match for the Italian team in the Champions League, but he led it on four occasions in the European League, during which the “Giallorossi” achieved victory in two matches and suffered two defeats.
The Portuguese Porto confrontation was the last that the French referee officiated against Roma, which was held in the second leg of the qualifying round for the round of 16 of the European League for the 2024-2025 season, and ended in favor of the Italian team with a score of three goals to two.
