The UEFA Champions League played host to a chaotic clash between Girona and Feyenoord on Wednesday which produced five goals (including two own goals), two saved penalties, one disallowed effort and a thrilling 3-2 victory for the visitors.
Along with all the head-spinning twists and turns, the match at Girona’s rain-lashed Montilivi stadium was also notable for another reason which had fans watching in the stands and on TV doing a double-take.
Benjamin and Marco Zürcher, a pair of identical twins, were the assistant referees while their fellow Swiss official, Urs Schnyder, was the man in the middle.
Both aged 38 and hailing from Switzerland, the Zürcher brothers commonly work together and have regularly assisted games in the Swiss Super League, the UEFA Nations League and European club competitions.
Spot the difference 👀
The assistant referees for Girona v Feyenoord are identical twins Marco Zurcher and Benjamin Zurcher!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/LExeN8m4on
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 2, 2024
The team of officials certainly had their work cut out as the action unfolded in Catalonia as Girona went ahead early on, only to be overtaken by Feyenoord in bizarre circumstances.
The Dutch visitors benefitted from two own goals being scored by their Spanish hosts, who also had a goal disallowed at 2-2 when one of the Zürchers flagged for an offside in the buildup. Sure enough, the prevailing VAR review found that Donny van de Beek had strayed beyond the last man by a matter of centimetres and the call was upheld.
Both sides also managed to miss a penalty apiece before the winning goal was eventually scored for Feyenoord by Girona defender Ladislav Krejcí in the latter stages.
However, there was still time for Girona to have a penalty claim denied for handball in the 96th-minute, which was eventually brought to a close by the sound of the final whistle after several minutes of deliberation among the officials. Phew.
Halil and Hamit Altintop
Both Turkey internationals and Schalke stalwarts, the Altintop twins enjoyed decent careers. Hamit — who is 10 minutes older — was a gifted midfielder who won the 2010 Puskas Award with a thunderous volley against Kazakhstan.
Manchester United ushered in the second generation of a new family dynasty in April 2024 when the club agreed professional terms with the twin sons of former midfielder Darren Fletcher.
Jack and Tyler, both 17, left the Manchester City youth system in 2023 to sign their first pro contracts with United, the club for whom their father made over 200 appearances in a trophy-laden, 12-year stint that saw him win five Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Both left-backs by trade, the Sweden internationals have forged decent professional careers, even playing together at Blackburn Rovers for a short while. After similar stints in English football, the Olsson brothers are now both back playing in the Swedish league with Martin at Malmö and Marcus at Halmstad.
The Olssons’ brother-in-law is former NBA star Dirk Nowitzki, who married the twins’ older sister Jessica in 2012.
Ray and Rod Wallace
The Wallaces were the very first twins to play in the Premier League, with both playing for Leeds United in the early 1990s. Ray bowed out after just seven appearances, but Rod went on to score 45 goals in 197 top-flight games.
However, the story of the Wallaces actually started at Southampton, where older brother Danny broke into the first team in 1980. Ray and Rod then both signed for the Saints, and in October 1988, against Sheffield Wednesday, all three were on the pitch at the same time. It was the first time three brothers had played for the same team in 68 years.
Both the sons of a professional footballer, Ramiro (the centre-back) is the one who used to play for Everton, while Rogelio (the striker) has been banging in the goals for Monterrey to the point where he is the club’s all-time top scorer.
Thomas and Andreas Ravelli
Former goalkeeper Thomas is revered as one of Sweden’s greatest-ever players having accrued 143 senior caps; representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Euro 1992 and the 1994 World Cup, and even winning the prestigious Guldbollen award in 1981.
That said, centre-back Andreas was a decent player too and managed to muster a perfectly respectable 41 international caps of his own.
David and Philipp Degen
The brothers were selected to represent Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup. There’s not a lot to split their careers, with both winning multiple Swiss league titles at Basel (four times together), though Philipp has over twice the number of international caps as his brother. Philipp probably edges it, though, having played for Liverpool and spent three seasons at Dortmund.
Dean and David Holdsworth
The Holdsworths started out together as youngsters at Watford in the late 1980s before their careers took separate paths. However, they did reunite at Bolton in the 1990s for a very brief time before both moved into management.
