Kuipers to referee UEFA Europa League final
Monday, May 13, 2013
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Björn Kuipers will referee Wednesday's UEFA Europa League final between SL Benfica and Chelsea FC, assisted by his fellow Dutchmen Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra.
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The UEFA Referees Committee today announced the referee for the 2013 UEFA Europa League final between SL Benfica and Chelsea FC, to be played at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday at 20.45CET.
The match will be handled by 40-year-old Dutch referee Björn Kuipers, who has been an international referee since 2006. He took charge of the 2011 UEFA Super Cup game in Monaco between FC Barcelona and FC Porto and also officiated at two UEFA EURO 2012 matches.
In total, Kuipers has presided over 15 UEFA Europa League (including former UEFA Cup) fixtures to date, one of which was this season – the round of 32 return leg between Liverpool FC and FC Zenit St Petersburg.
He has also officiated at 25 UEFA Champions League games since the 2006/07 campaign, as well as taking charge of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and 2006 U17 finals.
At the final in Amsterdam, Kuipers will be assisted by his fellow countrymen Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra. The fourth official will be Felix Brych from Germany and the two additional assistant referees, Pol van Poekel and Richard Liesveld from the Netherlands. A Dutch reserve assistant referee – Berry Simons – completes the refereeing team lineup.
Kuipers is the first referee to officiate in a UEFA club final in his home nation since Italy's Tullio Lanese in the 1991 European Champion Clubs' Cup final in Bari.