Champions Cup match officials announced for Rounds Three and Four

Adam Kyriacou
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Matthew Carley in charge of Champions Cup game.

Matthew Carley in charge of Champions Cup game.

The match officials for Rounds Three and Four of the Champions Cup have been announced, with Matthew Carley taking charge of the Ulster v Toulouse showdown.

Round Three of the competition starts on Friday, January 12 with Northampton Saints facing Bayonne in a tie that will be refereed by Mike Adamson (Scotland).

There’s then a whopping eight games on Saturday, including Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow Warriors, Toulon v Munster, Leinster v Stade Francais and Stormers v Sale Sharks. Pierre Brousset (France), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Christophe Ridley (England) and Luc Ramos (France) will take charge of those Champions Cup games.

Sunday’s action throws up three mouth-watering games as Andrea Piardi (Italy) referees Bath v Racing 92, Andrew Brace (Ireland) gets La Rochelle v Leicester Tigers and Chris Busby (Ireland) takes charge of Bordeaux-Begles v Saracens, bringing down the curtain on a round that could determine teams’ knockout hopes.

Round Four begins with two matches on Friday, January 19 as Carley is in charge of Glasgow v Toulon while Pierre Brousset (France) takes Connacht v Bristol.

Karl Dickson (England) will referee Bulls v Bordeaux-Begles while Mathieu Raynal (France) gets the tasty Leicester Tigers v Leinster meeting on Saturday. Other matches that day include Munster v Northampton Saints and Saracens v Lyon, with Tual Trainini (France) and Sam Grove-White (Scotland) refereeing those.

The round concludes with three games on Sunday as Busby referees Sale Sharks v La Rochelle, Brace gets Toulouse v Bath and Amashukeli takes Bayonne v Exeter.

Round Three

Friday, January 12

Northampton Saints v Bayonne

Referee: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (Sco), David Sutherland (Sco)
TMO: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

Saturday, January 13

Lyon v Connacht

Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wal), Ben Breakspear (Wal)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wal)

Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow Warriors

Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (Fra), Kevin Bralley (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)

Bristol Bears v Bulls

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Vivien Praderie (Fra), Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (Fra)

Toulon v Munster

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
Assistant Referees: Saba Abulashvili (Geo), Shota Tevzadze (Geo)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)

Leinster v Stade Français

Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (Eng), Gareth Holsgrove (Eng)
TMO: Tom Foley (Eng)

Stormers v Sale Sharks

Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Rozier (Fra), Evan Uruzmendi (Fra)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (Fra)

Cardiff v Harlequins

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (Ire), Sam Holt (Ire)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ire)

Ulster v Toulouse

Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Sara Cox (Eng), Simon Harding (Eng)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)

Sunday, January 14

Bath v Racing 92

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (Ita), Filippo Russo (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)

La Rochelle v Leicester Tigers

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (Ire), Padraic Reidy (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)

Bordeaux-Begles v Saracens

Referee: Chris Busby (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ire), Oisin Quinn (Ire)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ire)

Round Four

Friday, January 19

Glasgow Warriors v Toulon

Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson (Eng), Gareth Holsgrove (Eng)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)

Connacht v Bristol Bears

Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (Fra), Kevin Bralley (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)

Saturday, January 20

Harlequins v Ulster

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Vivien Praderie (Fra), Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (Fra)

Bulls v Bordeaux-Begles

Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal (Eng), John Meredith (Eng)
TMO: Hamish Smales (Eng)

Leicester Tigers v Leinster

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo (Ita), Clara Munarini (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)

Racing 92 v Cardiff

Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: TBC
TMO: Tom Foley (Eng)

Munster v Northampton Saints

Referee: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Ludovic Cayre (Fra), Flavien Hourquet (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)

Stade Français v Stormers

Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)
Assistant Referees: TBC
TMO: Stuart Terheege (Eng)

Saracens v Lyon

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Mike Adamson (Sco), Hollie Davidson (Sco)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Sco)

Sunday, January 21

Sale Sharks v La Rochelle

Referee: Chris Busby (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ire), Joy Neville (Ire)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ire)

Toulouse v Bath

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ire), Paul Haycock (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)

Bayonne v Exeter Chiefs

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
Assistant Referees: Saba Abulashvili (Geo), Shota Tevzadze (Geo)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)

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