Clément Turpin has been appointed to referee the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid on May 28 at the Stade de France, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced on Wednesday May 11, a first in thirty-six years for a Frenchman.
The nearly 40-year-old referee will be accompanied by his compatriots Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore, as assistants, and by Benoît Bastien as fourth referee. The video assistance (VAR) will be led by Jérôme Brisard, another French referee. His assistants will be Willy Delajod, also of French nationality, and the Italians Massimiliano Irrati and Filippo Meli.
An international referee for a dozen years, Turpin will be on the whistle of a Champions League final for the first time in his career, after being fourth referee in the 2018 final which had already brought Real to grips Madrid and Liverpool (3-1 victory for the Spaniards). The one who became the youngest referee in Ligue 1 in 2008, at 26, had already officiated last season in the Europa League final, won on penalties by Villarreal against Manchester United.
“Recognition of the constant progress of French arbitration”
On May 28, he will become the sixth Frenchman to referee the final of the toughest European Cup, after Robert Héliès (1972), Michel Kitabdjian (1975), Robert Wurtz (1977), Georges Konrath (1982) and Michel Vautrot (1986), according to the French Football Federation (FFF).
“This is excellent news for French refereeing, which is progressing from year to year in the international hierarchy. Our referees are now present at every major competition.”welcomed the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, in a press release.
Pascal Garibian, technical director of arbitration, sees in this appointment “the recognition of the excellent season carried out by Clément Turpin” and “recognition of the constant progress made by French arbitration”. “France now has three Elite UEFA referees, the highest level in Europe, with Clément Turpin, Benoît Bastien and François Letexier. This is unheard of “he noted.
