UEFA has appointed Daniel Siebert of Germany to officiate the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris St Germain on May 30, the governing body announced as it named its full roster of referees for this month’s major European finals.
The selection puts Siebert at the centre of European club football’s biggest single match. UEFA also appointed Francois Letexier to handle the Europa League final between Freiburg and Aston Villa on May 20, Tess Olofsson to oversee the Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais on May 23, and Maurizio Mariani to take charge of the Conference League final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano a week after May 20. For each of these fixtures UEFA assigned two compatriot assistants to work alongside the lead referee.
Those dates compress a remarkable run of finals into little more than two weeks: Letexier on May 20, Olofsson on May 23, Mariani a week after May 20, and Siebert capping the schedule on May 30. The appointments formalise who will control the defining moments — penalty shouts, VAR checks, and the closing decisions — in matches that will decide continental trophies and shape club seasons.
Context from UEFA’s announcement underlines the organisation’s approach to match officials this month. Each referee was paired with two compatriot assistants, a detail UEFA included in the roster release. The move places national teams of officials in concert for each final, a staffing pattern that UEFA has used in recent high-profile ties to promote cohesion among the on-field crew.
The assignment has a built-in friction: Siebert previously took charge of Arsenal’s semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid during this Champions League campaign, and now he will return to officiate Arsenal in the final. That sequence — an official overseeing one team earlier in the tournament and then standing over the same team in the competition’s decisive match — is concrete and simple to trace from the match logs UEFA provided.
For the other finals UEFA’s lineup is similarly specific. Francois Letexier will be the lead in the Europa League final on May 20 between Freiburg and Aston Villa. Tess Olofsson’s remit is the Women’s Champions League final on May 23 between Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais. Maurizio Mariani will be in charge of the Conference League final that follows a week after May 20, when Crystal Palace meet Rayo Vallecano. Each lead official will be supported on the pitch by two officials from their own country, according to UEFA’s list.
The immediate effect is practical: matchday protocols and preparation will proceed under named leadership rather than interim assignments. Teams know who will officiate their finals; broadcasters and competition organisers can plan around the chosen crews; referees themselves move into focused preparation for the specific teams and scenarios they will face.
On May 30, Siebert will walk onto the pitch as the appointed referee for football’s most-watched club match of the season, having already been the man in the middle for Arsenal in the semi-finals. That fact — his recent involvement with one of the finalists and his elevation to the final — is the cleanest, most consequential line running through UEFA’s announcement: it explains why the organisation’s roster matters now and what viewers, clubs and competition officials will be watching closely as the month’s finals unfold.
