UEFA appoints Benoit Bastien as referee for Barça-Copenhagen

FC Barcelona returns to action this Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26, hosting FC Copenhagen (9:00 PM) for the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. The game, to be played at Spotify Camp Nou, will have Frenchman Benoit Bastien as the main referee, who only has one previous European encounter with Barça.

This season, the 42-year-old referee, a UEFA professional since 2009, officiated two Champions League group stage matches, with a high tally of bookings (10) and penalties awarded (4). The Frenchman officiated Galatasaray's victory on Ajax's ground (0-3) and Tottenham's win in London against Slavia Prague (3-0).

In both matches, Bastien awarded two penalties in favor of the teams that ended up winning. In addition, he has officiated ten matchdays in Ligue 1 and another pair of matches in the qualifying rounds of the Champions and Europa League, the latter tournament where he refereed Barça for the only time.

Barça's only precedent with Benoit Bastien as referee

Benoit Bastien was the main figure in the 0-0 draw between Barcelona and Galatasaray (0-0) played on March 10, 2022, at Camp Nou. The match was the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 and ended with a couple of yellow cards per side and a goalless draw. In the second leg in Turkey, the Blaugrana team won by the narrowest of margins (1-2) with goals from Pedri and Aubameyang.

In the case of Copenhagen, the Danes only played a couple of matches in Europe officiated by the French referee. The record is one draw and one loss for the 'white and blue' team, which notably occurred on Spanish soil (3-0 against Sevilla), in the group stage of the 22/23 Champions League.

Facing the duel against Copenhagen, Barça will not be able to count on **Frenkie de Jong** due to suspension. The Dutchman received his third yellow card in the match against Slavia Prague (2-4), where **Lamine Yamal** also served a suspension for accumulating cards

Barcelona must win convincingly to secure direct qualification for the round of 16

On the eighth matchday of the league stage, the team managed by Hansi Flick knows that a victory with a two-goal advantage or more can secure their direct qualification for the round of 16. The Blaugrana team is in 9th place with 13 points, but the clash between PSG (6th) and Newcastle (7th) in Paris will free up at least one spot within the TOP-8

Chelsea (8th), furthermore, visits Naples on the final matchday, while the other four clubs below Barça that also have 13 points currently have a worse goal difference than the Catalans (+5). Hence the importance of winning by a comfortable margin to secure a spot among the top eight and, with it, direct passage to the round of 16.

The teams ranked between 9th and 24th will play a playoff in February to determine the remaining eight qualifiers for the next stage. Barcelona, should they thrash Copenhagen by a wide margin, could even finish third, provided teams like Real Madrid (3rd), Liverpool (4th), and Tottenham (5th) do not win on the day, and there is a draw between PSG and Newcastle.