English referee Howard Webb will be taking charge of the first leg Champions League semi-final encounter between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

This is the first of the two Champions League semifinals. The second one will be between English club Chelsea and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

José Mourinho will be coming against the side against whom he won the 2010 Champions League title with Inter Milan. It is highly unlikely that José Mourinho will not be having enough information on Bayern Munich after having done such a stellar job with Inter Milan in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Howard Webb has been widely regarded to be the best English referee. He took over the match between Netherlands and Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

The 40-year-old referee was also seen at the 2010 Champions League final – the same final that the Inter Milan managed by José Mourinho won against Bayern Munich. The Portuguese manager will be hoping that the lucky omens will once again reappear when they face the German club at the Allianz arena.

Bayern Munich have the major motivation of playing at the final due to the fact that it will be held at the home ground – Allianz arena.

So far, Howard Webb has been involved in 42 matches in various competitions. Even though only four of the matches have come in the Champions League this season, he is expected to hand the physical approach by Real Madrid quite brilliantly, whilst backing him to referee the European Championships final is one of the top euro 2012 bets.

The European football governing body – UEFA – are yet to name the referee for the second semifinal between Barcelona and Chelsea. Back in 2009, this match at Stamford Bridge was the setting of the highly controversial refereeing by the Norwegian Øvrebø. Øvrebø denied many clear-cut penalties for Chelsea back then, which was viewed highly controversial.