Cuneyt Cakir
Birthday: 1976-11-23
Stature: 177cm
Nationality: Turkey
On field position: Chief Referee
Hometown: Istanbul
Profession: Insurance agent
Languages: Turkish, English
Hobbies: Reading, watching movies
Profile:

Cuneyt Cakir is a Turkish UEFA Elite association football referee. He has been in the middle for more than 170 matches including 12 derbies in the Super Lig.

 

He made his international refereeing debut in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He oversaw Fulham's second-leg win against Hamburger SV in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League semi-finals. On 29 September 2010, Cakir made his debut in the Champions League Group Stage when he took charge of group D fixture between Rubin Kazan and Barcelona.

 

On 24 April 2012, he officiated the Champions League semifinal between FC Barcelona and Chelsea at Camp Nou, Barcelona. Cakir sent off John Terry in first half. On 5 March 2013, Cakir officiated the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester United and Real Madrid, and, in a controversial decision, sent off Manchester United player Nani. Cakir officiated the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final match of Juventus vs. Barcelona at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany on 6 June 2015 and used his yellow card three times.

 

On 11 June 2012, he officiated the Euro 2012 Match between Ukraine and Sweden. On 18 June, he also officiated the Euro 2012 match between Italy and Ireland where he was very precise when it came to ensuring the correct distance from the ball to the defenders' wall. On 27 June 2012, he officiated the Euro 2012 semi-final match between Portugal and Spain. Cakir showed 9 yellow cards in this match in 120 minutes. On 9 July 2014, he was appointed to referee the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi final match, between Netherlands and Argentina. In December 2015, he was named one of the eighteen referees appointed for UEFA Euro 2016.

 

Cakır officiated the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final match between Juventus and Barcelona at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany on 6 June 2015 and showed his yellow card three times. In 2016, Cakır officiated two different semi-final matches in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the first referee to do so. Cakır officiated the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League semi-final match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at Vicente Calderón in Madrid, Spain on 10 May 2017.

 

In the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Cakır officiated the group stage match between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in December 2017, as well as the round of 16 game between FC Barcelona and Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge on 20 February 2018. Later, he refereed the semifinal second leg match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid.

Cakır officiated the first round of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.