Joao Goncalves appointed to referee CSKA Sofia vs AS Monaco

UEFA has appointed 34-year-old Portuguese referee Joao Goncalves from Porto to officiate the UEFA Conference League match between CSKA Sofia and AS Monaco. The match is scheduled for Thursday, October 15, at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

The officiating crew is entirely Portuguese, including linesmen Pedro Ribeiro and Tiago Costa, fourth official Jose Besa, VAR official Andre Narciso, and VAR assistant Elder Malheiro. Gediminas Mazeika from Lithuania will serve as the referee observer, and Jon Poalelung from Moldova will act as the UEFA delegate.

Goncalves has been part of the Portuguese football elite since 2021. His recent international experience includes matches in the UEFA Youth League and qualifying rounds for the UEFA Europa Conference League involving teams from Gibraltar, Andorra, Ireland, and Croatia. He is noted for a relatively low card frequency, having issued only seven yellow cards in his recent qualifying matches.