Aspects of organising a Champions League final that fans would not ordinarily think about are taking shape. The Killers have been confirmed as the pre-match entertainment, Gooners will thereby be able to think about All These Things That I've Done, hopefully not looking for Mr Brightside come full time. Meanwhile, UEFA have also announced the night's officiating team, which might just be good news for Arsenal.
Champions League final 2026 match officials
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Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany).
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Assistants: Jan Seidel & Rafael Foltyn (Germany).
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Fourth official: Sandro Schrer (Switzerland).
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Reserve assistant referee: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso (Spain).
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Video assistant referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany).
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Assistant video assistant referee: Robert Schrder (Germany).
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Support video assistant referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain).
Of course, since the advent of VAR, a lot more officials are required, with eight in total set to be on duty on the night of 30 May. However, it is the centre official we are going to focus on. This final will be the biggest match of 42 year old Daniel Siebert's career. He has been a Bundesliga referee since 2012, officiating three match at Euro 2020 and the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup final between Tunisia and Algeria at Al-Bayt Stadium, but never a fixture with this many eyes on it.
Well, Siebert may be a familiar face to Arsenal fans and certainly Arsenal players, given that this will be his third Gunners' fixture of 2026 already. Arteta's team boast a perfect record when the German is the man in the middle.
Daniel Siebert's previous Arsenal matches
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5 May 2026: Arsenal 1-0 Atltico Madrid – 3 yellow cards, booked unused sub Kepa.
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Tue 7 April 26:Sporting CP 0-1 Arsenal– 1 yellow card shown to Morita of Sporting.
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Wed 22 Jan 25:Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb– 4 yellows, booking Timber & Sterling.
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Tue 11 March 21:Olympiacos 1-3 Arsenal– 3 yellow cards, booked Gabriel.
All four matches Siebert has refereed to date Arsenal have won. This includes two crucial 1-0 victories during this season's Champions League knockout phase, taking charge of the Gunners' narrow wins over Sporting at Estdio Jos Alvalade and Atltico Madrid in the semi-final second leg.
In none of these four matches has the German made any contentious or egregious decisions, so we're not suggesting he is a closet Gooner, but this record still makes for good reading. So, what about on the flip side? How many Paris Saint-Germain matches has he taken charge of, and how do les Rouge-et-Bleu fair in those fixtures?
Daniel Siebert's previous Paris Saint-Germain matches
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10 December 2025: Athletic Club 0-0 PSG – 4 yellow cards, booked Warren Zare-Emery.
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18 September 2024: PSG 1-0 Girona – 4 yellow cards, booked Marquinhos.
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14 September 2022: Maccabi Haifa 1-3 PSG – 4 yellow cards, booked Neymar.
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22 Oct 2019: Club Brugge 0-5 PSG – 5 yellows, booked Meunier, Verratti & Choupo-Moting.
Well, turns out PSG do have a pretty imperious record with Siebert in charge too. In the past, he has overseen les Parisiens' Champions League wins over Club Brugge, Maccabi Haifa and Girona last season, albeit this time round he was in charge when Luis Enrique's side were frustratingly held to a goalless draw by Athletic Club at San Mams.
Nevertheless, we can also learn from the data that Siebert is not the type of referee who goes about brandishing lots of cards for the sake of it. In 32 matches this season, he has produced 132 yellows and eight reds, an average of just over four cautions per match, as well as a sending off every 1,485 minutes. With Arsenal likely to be out of possession for the majority of this clash in Budapest, thereby likely committing more fouls, this more laissez-faire approach can only be good news.
This article was originally published on www.paininthearsenal.com as Arsenal handed early Champions League final boost as UEFA make surprise decision.
