German referee Siebert gets Arsenal-PSG in Champions League final after missing out on World Cup

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — German referee Daniel Siebert was picked Monday by UEFA for the Champions League final after FIFA left him off its World Cup list.

The game between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain on May 30 at Puskas Arena in Budapest will be Siebert’s 10th in the Champions League this season — and the third straight round he will have worked an Arsenal match.

Siebert handled Arsenal’s 1-0 wins at Sporting Lisbon in the quarterfinals first leg, and at home to Atletico Madrid in the semifinals second leg.

He refereed PSG once this season, in a league phase game at Athletic Bilbao that ended 0-0.

In his nine Champions League games this season Siebert has shown two red cards and awarded just one penalty kick.

FIFA did take Seibert to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where he worked two group-stage games, Tunisia-Australia and Ghana-Uruguay. He was not picked for the 2026 tournament in North America, with FIFA selecting his fellow German Felix Zwayer.

Siebert worked at the past two European Championships, handling a total of five games.

Other UEFA club finals

The Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and OL Lyonnes will be refereed by Tess Olofsson of Sweden. The game is on May 23 in Oslo, Norway. Olofsson worked the women’s final at the 2024 Paris Olympics tournament, won by the United States 1-0 against Brazil.

French referee François Letexier, who handled the men's Euro 2024 final, was picked by UEFA for the Europa League final. Aston Villa will play Freiburg on May 20 in Istanbul.

The Conference League final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany, will be refereed by Maurizio Mariani of Italy. Mariani worked the Champions League quarterfinals, second-leg game at Anfield last month where he awarded a penalty to Liverpool against PSG then overruled himself after a video review.

Letexier and Mariani are both among the 52 referees FIFA is taking to the World Cup where 104 games will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

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