UEFA today confirmed that German referee Felix Brych (36) will take charge of the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals between Chelsea and FC Barcelona, on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge in London.

Brych was the referee in charge in July 2011 of the semi-final of the Audi Cup that was played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, the venue for this year’s Champions League final, in which Barcelona and Internacional de Porto Alegre of Brazil tied at 2 goals apiece, but Barça went through on penalties to qualify for the final.

Born on August 3rd in 1975 in Munich, Brych began his refereeing career in 1993. He led his first match in Germany’s first division in 2004 and three years later he became an international referee. In October of 2008 he made his Champions League debut in a group stage match at Anfield between Liverpool and PSV (3-1). Brych’s most recent Champions League match was the quarter-final first leg match between Apoel and Real Madrid (0-3). He was also in charge of a match earlier this season at Stamford Bridge, overseeing Chelsea’s 4-1 win against Napoli in added time in the Round of 16.

Besides overseeing three Real Madrid matches in his career, the German has also encountered a number of other Spanish clubs such as Valencia, in a match against Rangers (3-0), in November of 2010, Sevilla against CSKA Moscow (1-1) in February of that same year, and Atlético Madrid in two matches, against Panathinaikos (2-3) in 2009, and against Vojvodina (1-2) in August of 2007.

On the international stage, this past year on August 9th he refereed the friendly between Italy and Spain in Bari (2-1). Brych, who holds a doctorate in law, will not take part in the European Cup this summer in Poland and the Ukraine, and he has never participated in the final stages of the Euro Cup or World Cup at senior level. His first international match was an U-19 game between Italy and Switzerland (1-2) played in Greece.

Sources: Mundo Deportivo, Sport; Image: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images