They did it! Mistake in Italy before Dortmund

The Italian press (Corriere dello Sport) made an error before the game at Signal Iduna Park and got the Romanian's nationality wrong.

Corriere dello Sport got Istvan Kovacs' nationality wrong, a few hours before Dortmund – Inter

In a material that presented the referees who will lead the matches of the Serie A teams in the Champions League, the Corriere dello Sport journalists wrote that the game between Borussia Dortmund and Inter will be officiated by “the Turk” Istvan Kovacs.

“The Turkish referee Kovacs will referee the match Dortmund – Inter“, wrote the journalists from Cizma.

Official – Hungarian referee appointed for the Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan

– the journalists from semperinter.it

Hungarian referee appointed for the Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan // PHOTO: semperinter

Instead, Semper Inter called the Romanian “Hungarian”. It is not the first such mistake in the context of Kovacs being ethnically Hungarian.

The best-rated Romanian referee took center stage in last season's Champions League final, when PSG had fun with Inter, score 5-0.

Istvan will be assisted for the two touches by Mihai Marica and Ferencz Tunyogi, and the reserve referee will be Istvan's brother, Szabolcs Kovacs.

VAR camera: Rob Dieperink (Netherlands) and Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland).

Inter Milan are 14th in the Champions League main group with 12 points after the first 7 legs. On the other hand, Dortmund is 16th, with 11 points.

Matches refereed by Istvan Kovacs this season in the Champions League:

• September 17, 2025: Olympiacos – Paphos 0-0

• October 1, 2025: Villarreal – Juventus 2-2

• November 4, 2025: Liverpool – Real Madrid 1-0

• January 21, 2026: Galatasaray – Atletico Madrid 1-1

Ranking in the main group of the Champions League