The Champions League match between Roma and Real Madrid will be held at the Olimpico in Rome on 14 October, with the refereeing entrusted to the Frenchman François Letexier. The decision was taken by UEFA and published on 12 October, in view of the great rivalry between the two teams and José Mourinho's return to the Olimpico, where he will have played his first match in the Champions League. With Letexier, the main referee, his compatriots Cyrill Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni will be on the field, while Bastien Dechepy will act as fourth official. At VAR, however, the Dutch Dennis Higler and Pol van Boekel will occupy the roles of AVAR.
Letexier's choice has already sparked discussions in Spain, especially due to the tense climate that characterized the last time the Portuguese coach met the French referee. On 17 February, during the round of 32 of the Champions League between Benfica and Real Madrid, Mourinho was still on the Portuguese bench and suffered Letexier's expulsion for protests. The episode arose after an alleged insult by Vinicius to the Portuguese player Prestianni, which led to a six-match ban for the Argentine striker. Letexier, after showing two consecutive yellow cards in the 85th minute, sent off Mourinho, who was dragged from the field by his collaborators. The episode ended with a heated exchange of words between the manager and the referee, with Mourinho accusing Letexier of having "marked players who should not have received a yellow card". The Portuguese was then disqualified for the return match in Madrid, expressing in a press conference that he hoped not to be "sent away" by the referees themselves.
Mourinho's return to the Olimpico is part of a period of already existing tensions between the coach and the referees, especially after Real Madrid's last championship match. On that occasion, Vinicius' disqualification, the cancellation of a goal and the red card for pulling Saliba's hair pushed Mourinho to remain silent, declaring that he did not want to talk about what happened and that he wanted to concentrate on the next match against Sevilla and Barcelona. The choice of Letexier for the match against Roma, therefore, was seen by some as a step towards neutrality, even if tensions between the two men remain alive.
For Roma, the match against Real Madrid represents a crucial opportunity to consolidate their position in the group stage and to demonstrate their competitiveness against one of the most successful teams in Europe. Real, on the other hand, aims to regain confidence after the recent defeat against Sevilla and consolidate its position in the Champions League table. Either way, Letexier's refereeing will be in the spotlight, with fans wondering whether his presence will avoid further controversy and ensure fair and transparent play. The match, scheduled for 9pm, promises to be a high-level clash, with both teams aiming to write an important page in their European history.