Istvan Kovacs has been appointed referee for the Milan-Napoli derby, scheduled for Wednesday at San Siro, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Romanian referee has only one previous match against the Rossoneri (1-0 victory at home to Shkendija in the second leg of the 2017-18 Europa League play-offs), while the Neapolitans under his direction have collected two draws, in the Champions League against Genk (0-0, 2019), and in the Europa League against Barcelona (1-1 at Camp Nou, 2022).
Two draws for Napoli under his management
Overall, with Italian teams, her record is four victories (Shkendija-Milan 0-1, EL '17-18; Braga-Roma 0-2, EL' 20-21; Roma-Zorya 4-0, ECL '21-22; Roma-Feyenoord 1-0, ECL '21-22), four draws (Genk-NAPOLI 0-0, CL '19-20; Shakhtar-Inter 0-0, CL '21-22; Barça-NAPOLI 1-1, EL '21-22; Real Sociedad-Roma 0-0, EL '22-23) and one defeat (Bayern-Lazio 2-1, CL '20-21).
Instead, the Englishman Michael Oliver will referee tomorrow, at the “Da Luz”, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals between Benfica and Inter. Remembered for the return leg of Real-Juve in 2018, with that last-gasp penalty that infuriated Buffon, Oliver has never crossed paths with the Nerazzurri.
Overall, his record with Italian teams is 4 victories (Juve-Sporting 2-1, CL '17-18; Real-Juve 1-3, CL '17-18; Atalanta-Valencia 4-1, CL '19-20; Lazio-Zenit 3-1, CL '20-21), two draws (Galatasaray-Lazio 1-1, EL '15-16; Leipzig-Atalanta 1-1, EL '21-22) and two defeats (Fiorentina-Basel 1-2, EL '15-16; Feyenoord-NAPOLI 2-1, CL '17-18).
