Gil Manzano to referee Roma's Champions League opener at Fenerbahce

Jesús Gil Manzano, the Spanish referee, will take charge of Fenerbahçe–Roma on Thursday 10 September at 18:45 CET (19:45 local time) in Istanbul, marking Roma's return to the UEFA Champions League. The match is the opening fixture of Roma's league-phase campaign this season. Gil Manzano brings previous European experience against Roma. He refereed Roma's away fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 2019–20 Europa League season, a match that ended 2–1 to the German side. More recently, he oversaw Roma's February 2024 Europa League playoff return leg against Feyenoord, when Roma progressed after drawing 1–1 over 120 minutes and winning the penalty shootout. This will be his third European meeting with the club. The wider refereeing team comprises assistants Diego Barbero and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, with Juan Martínez Munuera as fourth official. César Soto Grado is the VAR operator, supported by Valentín Gómez as AVAR.

AS Roma have announced ticket sales for their home Champions League match against Real Madrid, scheduled for Tuesday 14 October at 21:00. The fixture marks the club's return to European football's elite competition after seven years away. Sales opened at 12:00 on 8 September for Serie A Plus season-ticket holders, who may purchase a maximum of two tickets per transaction and cannot resell them. General public sales begin at 12:00 on Wednesday 9 September, with each supporter able to buy up to four tickets per transaction. All tickets are issued in digital format only. Roma's Champions League campaign begins with an away trip to Fenerbahçe on Thursday, before the home debut against José Mourinho's Real Madrid. The club qualified for the league phase after finishing third in Serie A last season. Plus Coppe 2026–27 season-ticket holders will also have access to resale services from 10:00 on Friday 11 September 2026.

UEFA has confirmed that Spanish referee Jesús Gil Manzano will take charge of Fenerbahçe vs Roma on Thursday at 18:45 in Istanbul for the opening match of the 2026–27 Champions League League Phase. Gil Manzano has previously officiated Roma twice in European competition. He will be assisted by Diego Barbero and Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, with Juan Martínez Munuera as fourth official. César Soto Grado will operate at VAR, supported by AVAR Valentín Gómez, making the entire match officiating team Spanish. This fixture marks Roma's return to the Champions League after seven years. Gil Manzano's two prior encounters with Roma came in Europa League matches. The first was on 7 November 2019, when Roma lost 2–1 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the group stage. The second, much more recent, took place on 22 February 2024 at the Olimpico in a Europa League playoff return leg against Feyenoord. After a 1–1 draw that persisted through extra time, Roma secured qualification to the round of 16 by winning 4–2 on penalties. Excluding the penalty shootout outcome and considering only the match itself, Roma's record against Gil Manzano stands at one draw and one defeat. Thursday's encounter in Istanbul will be their third meeting, this time in the Champions League.

Roma return to the Champions League for the first time since March 2019 tonight in Istanbul against Fenerbahce, with Gasperini naming an unchanged side from Saturday's Serie A victory over Atalanta. Paulo Dybala, the 32-year-old Argentine absent from the competition for four and a half years since Juventus faced Villarreal in March 2022, will lead the team's attempt to translate the attacking form that has already impressed in Serie A wins over Fiorentina, Lecce and Atalanta. Dybala has played 253 minutes across Roma's opening three league fixtures under Gasperini's management. Nahuel Molina is the sole fresh name in the starting eleven after building his career in Europe with Atlético Madrid and the Argentine national team. The squad will draw on the experience of players for whom the Champions League anthem is familiar, with Svilar, Mancini, N'Dicka, Hermoso, Koné, Cristante, Wesley and Malen all named. Malen, who leads the Serie A scoring chart this season, will compete at elite European level for the first time in Roma colours. The night represents a transformation of nostalgia into present pride on the competition's stage, where Dybala has most thrived in his career.

Roma return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years on Thursday 10 September, travelling to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce in the League Phase's first matchday with a 18:45 kickoff. The match will be broadcast on Sky Sport and available to subscribers via Sky Go. Gasperini's side arrive in buoyant form after a 2–1 comeback win against Atalanta in Serie A, where Hermoso and Soulé scored in the closing stages, and have won their opening three league matches. Roma are expected to line up in a 3–4–2–1 formation with Svilar in goal, a back three of Mancini, N'Dicka and Hermoso, Wesley and Molina as full-backs, Cristante and Koné in midfield, and Dybala and Soulé supporting lone striker Malen. Molina and N'Dicka remain in contention with alternatives, and the squad picture will become clearer in training over the coming days. Lorenzo Pellegrini is almost certain to remain absent. Fenerbahce will be without Guendouzi, the former Lazio midfielder, who is serving a four-match suspension (two of which are conditional) following a fight during their qualifier against Lyon. The Turkish side reached the League Phase unbeaten through the preliminaries, eliminating Górnik Zabrze, Sturm Graz and Lyon, though they suffered a recent domestic setback when losing the derby to Besiktas after wins over Konyaspor and Samsunspor. In European competition they remain unbeaten across seven matches. Their probable lineup shows Ederson in goal, Semedo, Škriniar, Aké and Brown across the defence, Kanté and Yüksek in midfield, and Asensio, Aktürkoğlu and Nene behind striker Lukaku. This will be the first official meeting between the two clubs. Fenerbahce have won their last three home matches against Serie A sides without conceding, the most recent a 2–0 victory over Lazio in the 2012–13 Europa League quarter-finals. Official team lineups will be announced approximately one hour before kickoff, around 17:45 Italian time.

Matías Soulé's goal set the Olimpico alight in Roma's 96-minute encounter against Atalanta, a moment goalkeeper Mile Svilar chose to immortalise by posting a video on social media of the stadium erupting. The clip carried the caption "Giallorossi madness" — two words Svilar felt best captured what unfolded at the ground. The most telling moment came after Ederson's goal. Rather than crumble, Gasperini's Roma side held their composure, never surrendered and continued to believe until the final whistle. That response reveals much about this new Roma — a squad that may finally have learned not to give up. Svilar, watching from the sidelines in those closing stages, wanted to record the exact instant the Olimpico exploded: Soulé's strike, the roar, and a wave of giallorossi fervour that swept everyone along, including the goalkeeper himself.