Meet Felix Brych, the German law doctor and referee for Italy vs Spain

The Italy and Spain players will be well acquainted with referee Felix Brych when they walk out to face each other in their Euro 2020 semi-final tonight.

Telegraph Sport finds out more about the official who is regarded as one of Uefa’s sterner taskmasters.

Who is Felix Brych?

Hailing from Munich, 45-year-old Brych is a doctor of law and started refereeing in the Bundesliga in 2004. He began officiating in Uefa competitions four years later.

A familiar face for seasoned Champions League watchers, Brych has taken charge of 299 Bundesliga games as well as 64 ties in the Champions League proper. He was voted World Referee of the Year in 2017.

This is Brych’s fourth appearance at an international tournament having been involved in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 2016. He has already refereed four games at Euro 2020, the last of which was England’s 4-0 over Ukraine. Brych is yet to award a penalty at the tournament.

Does he have history with either team?

Brych has not refereed any matches involving Italy and Spain in the tournament so far.

But his extensive experience in Europe means he will be familiar to players on both teams.

What other big games has he been involved with?

He refereed numerous games in European football last season including matches involving Serie A’s Roma and AC Milan and La Liga’s Real Madrid.

The last red card he awarded was to Idrissa Gueye in Manchester City’s 2-1 Champions League first leg win over PSG in April. Another notable occasion involving an English team was Tottenham’s dramatic comeback against Ajax in Amsterdam at the semi-final stage in 2019.

Brych officiated the first leg of the 2012 Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona, a match that finished with a 1-0 win for Chelsea. Brych also refereed the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, where Real Madrid ran out 4-1 winners against Juventus.

SOURCE : telegraph.co.uk