UEFA has appointed French referee Willy Delajod to take charge of Manchester United’s Champions League opener against Sabah on Thursday night.
Michael Carrick’s side welcome the Azerbaijani champions to Old Trafford at 8pm BST as United begin their first Champions League campaign in three seasons.
UEFA’s official Matchday One referee appointments confirm Delajod will be the man in the middle.
It will not be his first experience of Sabah this season.
Willy Delajod from France will be the referee for Manchester United vs Sabah on Thursday#MUFC #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/XmN1D9trKf
— (Fan Page) Manchester United (@Unitedfans2023) September 8, 2026
Willy Delajod has already refereed Sabah this season
Delajod took charge when Sabah beat Aarhus 4-0 in Baku in the Champions League third qualifying round on 11 August.
The result overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit and sent Sabah through 5-2 on aggregate, with the UEFA match information confirming Delajod was the referee.
He showed three yellow cards during that game and will now encounter Valdas Dambrauskas’ side again at Old Trafford.
Erwan Finjean and Valentin Evrard have been appointed as assistant referees for Thursday’s match, with Mathieu Vernice the fourth official. Jérôme Brisard will operate as VAR.
For United, the game marks the beginning of an eight-match league-phase campaign after Carrick guided the club back into Europe’s leading competition.
ReadManUtd’s guide to Sabah details the visitors’ route through four qualifying rounds, while supporters can find the full Man Utd vs Sabah TV channel, live stream and kick-off information ahead of Thursday’s game.
United and Sabah have never previously met in a competitive fixture.
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