Plot deepens as Turkish referee under the microscope

Ever since an April night in 1966 when Tommy Docherty was accused of flooding the Stamford Bridge pitch to get a semi-final postponed, Barcelona-Chelsea has for some reason been a fixture with an edge to it.

True to form, almost half a century later rumours have been circulating about the referee for tonight’s second leg in Camp Nou.

Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir is 36 and has obviously been fast-tracked by UEFA chief referees’ officer Pierluigi Collina. He was promoted to the “development” list just two years ago and to the Elite List in June last year. He’s also one of the 12 referees selected for the European finals in the summer.