For him, it will be a first. UEFA announced on Monday the name of the referee who will officiate in the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest: Daniel Siebert. He was at the helm for Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the semi-final last week, and the 42-year-old German will now referee his first final of this magnitude.
Siebert is a well-known figure in the Bundesliga. He has officiated in 201 matches in the German Championship since starting his career in 1998. The Berlin native made his debut in the first division in 2012 and became a FIFA referee three years later.
He is also a familiar face to Parisians. The 40-year-old has led four matches for the capital club: a big win against Club Bruges in 2019 (5-0), a victory over Maccabi Haifa in 2022 (3-1), the first match of the victorious campaign last season against Guingamp (1-0), and a draw against Athletic Bilbao (0-0) earlier this season.
During these matches, he averages over 4 warnings, but no expulsions or penalties have been given. As previously explained, he recently faced Arsenal. Siebert also officiated in Arsenal’s victorious first leg quarter-final against Sporting (1-0).
With nine Champions League matches – and one red card – under his belt this season, he will be in the hot seat. UEFA also announced the rest of the officiating team. German Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn will be the assistant referees, Swiss Sandro Schärer will be the fourth official, and Spanish Guadalupe Porras Ayuso will be the reserve official. In the VAR booth, German Bastian Dankert will be assisted by his compatriot Robert Schröder.
