Confirmed Officials: Chelsea vs FC Salzburg | Champions League

The officials have been confirmed for Chelsea’s Champions League clash against FC Salzburg on Wednesday evening.

Chelsea began their 2022/23 Champions League campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb to put them bottom of Group E after matchday one. 

It also marked the end for Thomas Tuchel who was fired by Chelsea the following morning, which has seen Graham Potter appointed as his successor on a long-term deal.

📍 Cobham

Welcome to @ChelseaFC, Graham! 👋 pic.twitter.com/V11Gejtbzt

— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) September 12, 2022

Wednesday night will not only see him take charge of his first game at the club, but also his first Champions League game. 

Now the officials for the European meeting have been revealed by UEFA ahead of the encounter.

Referee

UEFA confirmed that Ivan Kružliak (SVK) will take charge of the meeting as the 2022/23 campaign continues.

Assistants

Ivan Kružliak will be supported by Branislav Hancko (SVK) and Jan Pozor (SVK) on the touchline.

Fourth Official

Peter Kralović (SVK) has been named as the Fourth Official for Wednesday’s match, with the referee overseeing conduct within the two dugouts, and the behaviour of managers Graham Potter and Matthias Jaissle.

VAR/Assistant VAR

Overviewing proceedings on VAR will be Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL), who has been named as the Video Assistant Referee, with the Assistant Video Assistant Referee being Luis Godinho (POR).

What has been said ahead of the game?

Potter is excited for his new chapter at Chelsea after signing a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge. It will be his first ever game in the Champions League too as head coach. 

He spoke with in-house media at Chelsea and shared his vision and delight following his arrival in west London. 

Graham Potter doing his media duties / @ChelseaFC

🗣 "It's a start of a really exciting period."pic.twitter.com/kMQIZi41RS

— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) September 12, 2022

The 47-year-old said: "It's the start of a really exciting period. I was really excited and impressed by (the new ownership), firstly as people and then the vision for the club and what they wanted to do. The history of the club speaks for itself, but it's about trying to create that again, in our own way.

"It's an amazing history, fantastic tradition, a historic football club. You only have to walk around the place here and you see the pictures, trophies, names. It's incredible and it's a huge honour for me to be part of that now.”

He added: "It's about creating a team that competes, that has respect, for each other, that is honest, that works together, so a combination of football and human values that we try to work with."