The referee of our team's UEFA Champions League League stage Matchday VII match against “Eintracht”, Sandro Schärer, was remembered for several controversial decisions during the game. The referee, who overlooked clear fouls against "Qarabağ" players, did not award penalty kicks in several instances and, despite no fouls being committed, made decisions in favor of the visiting team in some cases. However, despite his efforts, the representative of Aghdam showed resilience and defeated its opponent 3:2 with a last-minute goal.
Even the head of state drew attention to the referee's bias.
"Despite the referee's unfair and biased decisions, justice prevailed. It is not the first time that referees appointed by UEFA have tried to obstruct Qarabağ's path to victory with their unfair and biased decisions," the head of state emphasized in his congratulatory post.
Modern.az reports that the match referee, Sandro Schärer, has a controversial reputation. Born on June 6, 1988, in the municipality of Büttikon, Switzerland, Schärer has been officiating since 2011. He was one of the 19 referees who officiated matches at the 2024 European Football Championship. Furthermore, in June 2025, he officiated the Nations League final – the Spain - Portugal match.
He had previously come to public attention for his incorrect decisions in several matches.
For instance, on October 1, 2024, the UEFA Champions League match between “Milan” – “Bayer Leverkusen” was marked by controversies under Schärer's officiating.
In the “Milan” – “Bayer Leverkusen” match held at “San Siro”, the failure to make decisions in favor of the Italian club in several clear instances led to strong protests from both players and fans. In the final minutes of the game, despite Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapié clearly stepping on Ruben Loftus-Cheek's foot, Sandro Schärer neither called a foul nor did VAR intervene. However, it is reported that the incident was clearly visible in the replays.
Furthermore, the failure to award a penalty in the incident where Tammy Abraham was brought down by Tapsoba inside the penalty area also caused controversy. Although replays showed that the Leverkusen player did not touch the ball, the on-field “no penalty” decision was not overturned. The lack of significant decisions in favor of “Milan” in incidents involving Álvaro Morata and Theo Hernández further increased the Italian club's dissatisfaction.
A similar situation occurred in the Champions League Round of 16 match between “Lille” – “Borussia Dortmund” on March 12, 2025. In the 52nd minute of the match, when Dortmund forward Serhou Guirassy fell in the penalty area, Sandro Schärer unhesitatingly awarded a penalty. The VAR system did not intervene in this decision. However, television replays did not clearly show a clear foul by “Lille” defender, former Dortmund player Thomas Meunier.
Pascal Erlachner, a referee expert for “Blue Sport” television channel, also stated that he disagreed with the penalty decision regarding this incident. Emre Can accurately converted the penalty kick, after which Dortmund took the lead in the game. The match ended 2:1 with a goal from Maximilian Bayer, and the German club advanced to the quarterfinals.
