Davide Massa to referee Madrid's UCL last 16 clash against Leipzig

42-year-old Italian referee Davide Massa will be in the middle of the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie between Real Madrid and Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu, while 35-year-old Norwegian Espen Eskas will referee Manchester City-Copenhagen.

Massa, an international since 2014, has not refereed Real Madrid in Europe's top competition to date. However, he has officiated in the group stage of the 2021-2022 season, when Leipzig beat Brugge 5-0.

This season he has taken part in three matches; Shakhtar Donetsk-Oporto (1-3), Galatasaray-Bayern Munich (1-3) and Sevilla-PSV Eindhoven (2-3). He will be assisted on the sidelines by Filippo Melli and Stefano Alassio, while Massimiliano Errati will be in charge of the VAR, all of whom are his compatriots.

Eskas began his international career in 2017, and this will be his first knockout clash in the tournament. His previous experience is limited to three matches; two from this season's group stage between Real Madrid and Union Berlin and Manchester United and Bayern Munich and another from the 2022-2023 between Leipzig and Celtic.

He has never officially officiated the two teams he will referee and will be assisted on this occasion by Norwegian referees Isaak Elias Bashevkin and Anders Olav Dale and Dutch referee Dennis Higler as VAR.