When Crystal Palace take on Rayo Vallecano in Wednesday’s Conference League final, the man in the middle won’t be the most popular figure with Spanish football fans. Maurizio Mariani has been chosen to referee the game and the Italian has previously run afoul of Rayo’s near-neighbours Real Madrid.
Mariani, from Rome, has never taken charge of either Palace or Rayo before. The two sides are both chasing a first-ever European trophy when they face off in Leipzig.
The 44-year-old attracted the ire of Madrid fans after being appointed for their Champions League knockout tie against Manchester City this season. Media in Spain – including former referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez – raised concerns in the lead-up to the City match.
“Italian referees aren’t having a good run right now,” Iturralde Gonzalez told Cadena SER. “He doesn’t let the game flow, he prefers to steer it where he wants, and I don’t like that kind of refereeing.”
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The Spaniard continued: “He might not see a foul depending on where it is, for example, on the edge of the penalty area. Instead of letting the game unfold, he takes the game where he wants, and that’s why I don’t like it.”
Iturralde Gonzalez was speaking ahead of what would be Mariani’s third Real Madrid match. They beat RB Leipzig in 2022 and lost to Lille in 2024, with Jonathan David scoring the winner from the penalty spot.
View 2 ImagesMariani awarded Lille a match-winning penalty against Real Madrid in 2024(Image: FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)
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Crystal Palace have reached the UEFA Conference League finals where they face Rayo Vallecano on May 27. Fans can watch the game without a TNT Sports subscription by signing up to the HBO Max Basic With Ads plan via Prime Video’s HBO Max channel.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team had more luck against City this time around. They won 3-0 at the Bernabeu, with Fede Valverde scoring all three goals.
Mariani also awarded a penalty to Madrid in that match, though Vinicius Junior failed to score. It was the only spot-kick he awarded across seven matches in this season’s Champions League, while he only awarded one red card in the competition – to Bayern Munich star Luis Diaz in a league phase win away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Italian official has only taken charge of three previous Conference League. matches, awarding one penalty and handing out 11 yellow cards but no reds. The only spot-kick he awarded went the way of Maccabi Tel-Aviv in a 6-1 defeat to Olympiacos in March 2024.
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