Union Saint-Gilloise vs Newcastle United: UEFA confirm unusual refereeing appointment ahead of Champions League clash
UEFA have announced a distinctive set of officials for Newcastle United’s Champions League fixture against Union Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday.
The Magpies travel to Brussels hoping to record their first away victory in the competition since 2003 and bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona at St James’ Park. Because Union SG’s Stade Joseph Marien does not meet UEFA requirements, the tie will be staged at Anderlecht’s Lotto Park.
Union SG enter the game on a high after winning their first-ever Champions League outing 3-1 over PSV Eindhoven, while Newcastle are still searching for both their first away goal and victory of the 2025/26 campaign. Eddie Howe’s side have drawn 0-0 in each of their three away fixtures this season, with their last goal on the road coming via Fabian Schär’s header at Aston Villa back in April.
Schär and Lewis Hall both return to the squad, though Tino Livramento misses out with a knee injury. Wednesday’s match will be overseen by Swiss referee Sven Schnyder, in what will be his third Champions League appointment. Known for a strict style—his previous two group-stage matches produced multiple penalties, nine yellow cards and a red—Schnyder is also the guitarist for Swiss rock band Preamp Disaster.
Adding another quirk, his assistant referees Marco and Benjamin Zurcher are brothers.
With Newcastle aiming to progress to the Champions League knockouts under the new expanded format, Howe has stressed the value of their previous European experiences:
“Milan, Dortmund, Paris—you don’t get much tougher. I think those games made us stronger, even if the results weren’t there. We carried that competitiveness into our Premier League form, and hopefully we can now show it in Europe too.”
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