The Champions League qualification play-off round second leg between RB Salzburg and FC Dynamo Kyiv will be refereed by Halil Umut Meler from Turkey.
He was born on August 1 1986 in the small town of Selcuk. At the age of 29, Halil Umut worked at the Turkish top league matches, making his debut on September 18 2015 at the match between Istanbul Basaksehir and Akhisar Belediyespor (2:0).
In the summer of 2017, Meler, having the FIFA category, made his debut in euro cups, having worked at the Europa League qualifier between the Serbian side Vojevodina and the Slovak club Ruzomberok (2:1). The following year, Halil Umut was selected as a referee to work at the fi Euro-2018 (U17). He completed three group stage games and the final between the Netherlands and Italy (2:2, penalty shootout – 4:1).
The Turkish referee worked at his first Champions League group stage game in December of 2020. It was the match between Manchester City and Marseille (3:0). In 2021 he went to the Euro-2021 (U21) held in Slovenia and Hungary, where he refereed two matches.
In 2022 the UEFA referees’ committee recognized the progress of Halil Umut and transferred him to the Elite category. In 2024, Meler was among the 19 referee teams selected to work at the Euro-2024. He refereed two games of the group stage (Belgium vs Slovakia – 0:1 and Poland vs Austria – 1:3), as well as the round of 16 match (England vs Slovakia – 2:1 in extra time).
Quite recently an incident accident in Meler’s career, which shook the entire football world. On December 11 2023, right after the Turkish league match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor (1:1), Halil Umut was brutally beaten by Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca and several other representatives of the home side. The referee was taken to the hospital in order to record the consequences of the beating, and wrote a statement to the police. The incident was reacted to by the President of Turkey, Erdogan, the FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and many others, strongly condemning the actions taken against the referee. As a sign of protest against the arbitrariness arranged by the chairman Ankaraguju, all football competitions in the country were suspended for a week.
As for his personal life, Halil Umut lives with his family in his native town of Selcuk. It is noteworthy that 10 days before the abovementioned incident the Meler family announced the birth of their first child.
