The 41-year-old English referee has already overseen games involving both Champions League semi-finalists in this season's competition
Uefa has revealed Martin Atkinson will take charge of Tuesday's Champions League clash between Juventus and Real Madrid .
The English referee will be a familiar face to the two sets of players, as the 41-year-old has overseen continental clashes involving both semi-finalists this season.
Atkinson was the man in the middle for Juventus' 3-2 win over Olympiakos in Turin during the group stage, while he also officiated Madrid's 2-0 win at Schalke in the first leg of the Spanish club's last-16 tie.
The Bradford native, who has refereed a total of six games in this season's Champions League, was most recently involved in Bayern Munich's 6-1 rout of Porto in the second leg of their quarter-final.
Former English referee chief Keith Hackett branded Atkinson "incompetent" after he controversially sent off Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic for pushing Burnley's Ashley Barnes earlier this season after a potentially dangerous tackle from the latter player.
Atkinson will be assisted in Italy by Michael Mullarkey and Stephen Child.
Uefa has revealed Martin Atkinson will take charge of Tuesday's Champions League clash between Juventus and Real Madrid .
The English referee will be a familiar face to the two sets of players, as the 41-year-old has overseen continental clashes involving both semi-finalists this season.
Atkinson was the man in the middle for Juventus' 3-2 win over Olympiakos in Turin during the group stage, while he also officiated Madrid's 2-0 win at Schalke in the first leg of the Spanish club's last-16 tie.
The Bradford native, who has refereed a total of six games in this season's Champions League, was most recently involved in Bayern Munich's 6-1 rout of Porto in the second leg of their quarter-final.
Former English referee chief Keith Hackett branded Atkinson "incompetent" after he controversially sent off Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic for pushing Burnley's Ashley Barnes earlier this season after a potentially dangerous tackle from the latter player.
Atkinson will be assisted in Italy by Michael Mullarkey and Stephen Child.
Barcelona v Bayern Munich: Guardiola makes Camp Nou return
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Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola makes his return to the Camp Nou on Wednesday targeting a repeat of the sides' UEFA Champions League semi-final of 2013.
Bayern cruised to a dominant 7-0 aggregate success two years ago under Guardiola's predecessor Jupp Heynckes, before going on to complete a famous treble.
For Guardiola, Bayern can only lift two titles this term and to do so they will need to arrest stuttering form against a Barca side full of confidence.
While Guardiola's men were dumped out of the DFB-Pokal semi-finals by Borussia Dortmund before losing 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen, Barca put eight past Cordoba to keep their treble hopes on course.
Javi Martinez made his long-awaited return from a knee injury at the BayArena and is focused on helping shackle Barca's free-scoring front trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
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"The knee is good. Leverkusen was a good test for me and now I'm ready to help my team in the next game," he told reporters ahead of Wednesday's first leg.
"Whether I play or not depends on the coach. Stopping Messi, Neymar and Suarez will be very difficult.
"But we are not afraid. If we want to win, we can't allow ourselves to be afraid. We have a big heart and we have a big goal."
Robert Lewandowski is set to feature with a mask after sustaining multiple injuries against former club Dortmund although Franck Ribery (ankle) remains doubtful.
Guardiola's former Barca team-mate Luis Enrique has one worry - having seen Jordi Aba train alone on Monday - as he seeks to ensure the four-time winners reach their eighth final.
The pair both coached at Barca B after their playing careers ended with Luis Enrique making a strong start in his bid to emulate Guardiola's 14-trophy at the Camp Nou helm.
Victory on Tuesday would set Barca on course for their first Champions League final appearance since 2011 and the Liga leaders could hardly be in better form.
Winning 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions and with Messi taking his tally for the season to 40 at the weekend, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu played down the importance Guardiola's return.
"There's no favourite. It's an open tie against a great team that has a coach who knows us very well," Bartomeu told Hat Trick Barca.
"It is necessary to honour Pep and I believe it has to be spontaneous. We won't organise anything. There'll be no video or anything.
"He comes with all the honours but also to win. After the game we can salute him.
"I believe the relationship between Guardiola and the board ended well. The doors of Barca are open when he wants to come back. I think he will one day."
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Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola makes his return to the Camp Nou on Wednesday targeting a repeat of the sides' UEFA Champions League semi-final of 2013.
Bayern cruised to a dominant 7-0 aggregate success two years ago under Guardiola's predecessor Jupp Heynckes, before going on to complete a famous treble.
For Guardiola, Bayern can only lift two titles this term and to do so they will need to arrest stuttering form against a Barca side full of confidence.
While Guardiola's men were dumped out of the DFB-Pokal semi-finals by Borussia Dortmund before losing 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen, Barca put eight past Cordoba to keep their treble hopes on course.
Javi Martinez made his long-awaited return from a knee injury at the BayArena and is focused on helping shackle Barca's free-scoring front trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
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"The knee is good. Leverkusen was a good test for me and now I'm ready to help my team in the next game," he told reporters ahead of Wednesday's first leg.
"Whether I play or not depends on the coach. Stopping Messi, Neymar and Suarez will be very difficult.
"But we are not afraid. If we want to win, we can't allow ourselves to be afraid. We have a big heart and we have a big goal."
Robert Lewandowski is set to feature with a mask after sustaining multiple injuries against former club Dortmund although Franck Ribery (ankle) remains doubtful.
Guardiola's former Barca team-mate Luis Enrique has one worry - having seen Jordi Aba train alone on Monday - as he seeks to ensure the four-time winners reach their eighth final.
The pair both coached at Barca B after their playing careers ended with Luis Enrique making a strong start in his bid to emulate Guardiola's 14-trophy at the Camp Nou helm.
Victory on Tuesday would set Barca on course for their first Champions League final appearance since 2011 and the Liga leaders could hardly be in better form.
Winning 15 of their last 16 games in all competitions and with Messi taking his tally for the season to 40 at the weekend, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu played down the importance Guardiola's return.
"There's no favourite. It's an open tie against a great team that has a coach who knows us very well," Bartomeu told Hat Trick Barca.
"It is necessary to honour Pep and I believe it has to be spontaneous. We won't organise anything. There'll be no video or anything.
"He comes with all the honours but also to win. After the game we can salute him.
"I believe the relationship between Guardiola and the board ended well. The doors of Barca are open when he wants to come back. I think he will one day."
Juventus v Real Madrid: Serie A kings set for Real test
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.Juventus have no time to celebrate their fourth consecutive Serie A title as they host Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Massimiliano Allegri's men sealed the Scudetto on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Sampdoria, Arturo Vidal's goal enough to claim all three points.
But the Turin club will have to quickly refocus on Tuesday's visit of the defending European champions, who scraped into the last four courtesy of a 1-0 aggregate win over rivals Atletico Madrid.
And Allegri is under no illusions as to who the favourites are heading into the encounter.
He said: "It's not every day you get to play Real Madrid, so we have to keep our heads to reach the final. If we don't get there, it'll be expected."
The hosts are still without midfielder Paul Pogba for the clash due to a hamstring injury that has kept him on the sidelines since March.
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Kwadwo Asamoah, Martin Caceres and Luca Marrone are also unavailable for Juventus as the club bids to reach the final for the first time since 2003, when they came from behind to beat Real 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Real, meanwhile, head into the game with the fitness of France international striker Karim Benzema still in doubt.
Benzema has missed the last five games because of a knee injury, but may be able to return to training, potentially handing a further boost to a Real team who saw Gareth Bale make his comeback at Sevilla following a calf complaint.
"Benzema we will see in the next two days," coach Carlo Ancelotti said after Saturday's 3-2 La Liga win over the Andalusians.
"Tomorrow [Sunday] we will see if he can train with the team. The good thing is that Bale played 30 minutes without any problems. We have recovered a very important player [in Bale] and it would be even better if we could get Karim back too."
Real and Juve have appeared in the final of Europe's premier club competition 20 times between them and have recent history in the Champions League, having met in the group stages last term.
The Spanish side won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu before claiming a 2-2 draw in Turin, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring three goals over the two games.
And, with Ronaldo heading into a repeat of the 1998 final won by Real on the back of hat-trick versus Sevilla, a typically solid Italian defensive display will be required if Juve are to overcome the odds.
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.Juventus have no time to celebrate their fourth consecutive Serie A title as they host Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Massimiliano Allegri's men sealed the Scudetto on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Sampdoria, Arturo Vidal's goal enough to claim all three points.
But the Turin club will have to quickly refocus on Tuesday's visit of the defending European champions, who scraped into the last four courtesy of a 1-0 aggregate win over rivals Atletico Madrid.
And Allegri is under no illusions as to who the favourites are heading into the encounter.
He said: "It's not every day you get to play Real Madrid, so we have to keep our heads to reach the final. If we don't get there, it'll be expected."
The hosts are still without midfielder Paul Pogba for the clash due to a hamstring injury that has kept him on the sidelines since March.
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Kwadwo Asamoah, Martin Caceres and Luca Marrone are also unavailable for Juventus as the club bids to reach the final for the first time since 2003, when they came from behind to beat Real 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Real, meanwhile, head into the game with the fitness of France international striker Karim Benzema still in doubt.
Benzema has missed the last five games because of a knee injury, but may be able to return to training, potentially handing a further boost to a Real team who saw Gareth Bale make his comeback at Sevilla following a calf complaint.
"Benzema we will see in the next two days," coach Carlo Ancelotti said after Saturday's 3-2 La Liga win over the Andalusians.
"Tomorrow [Sunday] we will see if he can train with the team. The good thing is that Bale played 30 minutes without any problems. We have recovered a very important player [in Bale] and it would be even better if we could get Karim back too."
Real and Juve have appeared in the final of Europe's premier club competition 20 times between them and have recent history in the Champions League, having met in the group stages last term.
The Spanish side won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu before claiming a 2-2 draw in Turin, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring three goals over the two games.
And, with Ronaldo heading into a repeat of the 1998 final won by Real on the back of hat-trick versus Sevilla, a typically solid Italian defensive display will be required if Juve are to overcome the odds.
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Andrea Pirlo spoke about his vision of football and gave his take on the tie against Real Madrid in this interview.
"Me a role model? Maybe [you could say that] because I've always conducted myself well both on and off the pitch. At the end of the day that's what people want: to see nice things".
"Carlo Ancelotti is like a father to me. He changed my position and the way I view football. I identify with him. He's a really important figure for me. I've seen him turn other players into deep-lying central midfielders just like he did with me", the veteran noted.
Pirlo believes that the ability to make such a switch is all in the mind: "Football is a team sport. Not everyone gets that. If you sacrifice yourself for the team, anything can happen. Ancelotti achieved that with me and from what I can see, he's done the same with players in the current Real Madrid side".
The Italy international is in awe of his upcoming opponents' profile: "Anywhere in the world, if you go up to a fan and ask them 'who's the greatest?' they'll answer 'Real Madrid'. There is no doubt about it: they're the biggest club in the world. My first memories of Real Madrid are the matches against Milan, the 5-0 at the San Siro [in the 1988/1989 European Cup semi-finals]".
"We have to keep a cool head, be smart and remember that the tie lasts 180 minutes. We mustn't be rash and go out there trying to win it in the first leg. We have to follow Atlético's example: with two minutes to go in last year's final, they were all set to be crowned champions".
