French Referee To Officiate Champions League Semi-Final First Leg Brings Identical Fortunes To Inter Milan & Barcelona

French referee Clement Turpin will officiate the first leg of a mammoth Champions League semi-final tie between Barcelona and Inter.

Meanwhile, FCInterNews took stock of the two team’s overall performance under the Frenchman.

Barcelona and Inter have experienced mixed fortunes in their European games refereed by Clement Turpin.

However, Los Blaugranas boast a slight edge.

Indeed, the Italians have lost three of their five UEFA fixtures officiated by the 42-year-old.

Clement Turpin Unpopular Figure Among Inter Milan & Barcelona Fans

MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 19: Referee Clement Turpin awards a penalty to Manchester City for handball by Dayot Upamecano of FC Bayern Munich (Not Pictured) during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg match between FC Bayern München and Manchester City at Allianz Arena on April 19, 2023 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

On the other hand, Turpin has been in charge of Barcelona’s four European matches.

Though the record remains perfectly balanced with two wins and two losses, there’s one crucial issue.

Both Barca’s victories came in the Champions League group stages.

However, each defeat took place in the knockouts.

Indeed, Manchester United got the better of them in the Europa League playoffs in 2023.

More importantly, Inter’s old foes Roma performed an epic comeback in the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals.

Turpin blew the final whistle as the Giallorossi trounced Barcelona 3-0 in the second leg that year.