Daniel Siebert will take the biggest assignment of his career. UEFA has confirmed the German referee will oversee the 2026 Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on 30 May, with kick-off at 18:00 CEST.
It's his first UEFA club competition final. At 42 and an international referee since 2015, Siebert arrives in Budapest with relevant form — he handled nine UCL matches this season alone, including Arsenal's quarter-final first leg against Sporting and their semi-final second leg against Atlético de Madrid. He knows this Arsenal side's big-game temperament better than most officials on the continent. Whether PSG's attacking unit tests his card discipline is a question that will sharpen closer to kick-off.
The other three finals, ranked by intrigue
The Europa League final on 20 May is arguably the most compelling of the supporting acts. Freiburg against Aston Villa in Istanbul — a German underdog story versus an English club still finding out who they are in European football. François Letexier gets the whistle, and he's been here before: he refereed the Euro 2024 final between Spain and England and was fourth official at the 2024 Champions League final. UEFA trusts him in the big moments. Villa's odds will hinge on whether they can neutralise Freiburg's pressing structure in a one-off game on neutral ground.
The Women's Champions League final brings Barcelona and Lyon to Oslo's Ullevaal Stadion on 23 May, with Sweden's Tess Olofsson officiating. These two have been the defining clubs in the women's game for years. A final between them isn't a surprise — it's the natural conclusion of a competition they've dominated.
Then there's the Conference League final on 27 May in Leipzig, where Rayo Vallecano and Crystal Palace will both play in a UEFA final for the first time in their histories. Maurizio Mariani of Italy takes charge. For Palace, who spent years bouncing between Championship survival scraps and Premier League mid-table, reaching a European final is genuinely uncharted territory. Rayo's journey from Madrid's third club to European finalists is no less striking.
- UCL Final: PSG vs Arsenal — Puskás Aréna, Budapest — 30 May, 18:00 CEST — Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
- Europa League Final: Freiburg vs Aston Villa — Beşiktaş Park, Istanbul — 20 May — Referee: François Letexier (France)
- Women's UCL Final: Barcelona vs Lyon — Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo — 23 May — Referee: Tess Olofsson (Sweden)
- Conference League Final: Rayo Vallecano vs Crystal Palace — Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig — 27 May — Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Four finals across nine days. European football's season ends in a sprint, and the officiating appointments suggest UEFA is taking the quality of these games seriously — Letexier and Siebert in particular are among the most experienced referees in the competition right now.
