At a Glance:
- Arsenal play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final at the end of May.
- The Gunners have the chance to win a historic double in the next few weeks.
- UEFA have made an announcement which could frustrate Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal are set to take part in the biggest match in club football later this month when they travel to Budapest to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
The Gunners secured their spot in this European showdown by beating Atletico Madrid over two legs. After a cagey affair at the Wanda Metropolitano, Bukayo Saka scored on the stroke of half-time in the second leg to seal victory for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arteta and his players will be beaming with excitement heading into this clash with PSG, and they may have even more confidence ahead of the game in Hungary if they manage to get over the line in the Premier League. The North Londoners will win the English top flight if they overcome Burnley and Crystal Palace in their next two games.
That said, UEFA have just announced something that will not excite several Arsenal players, and most notably Saka.
UEFA appoint Daniel Siebert as referee for Champions League final
As shown by the refereeing controversy at the London Stadium on Sunday, Arsenal consistently seem to be front and centre in such drama. The Gunners are regularly involved in contentious decisions made by the officials or those on VAR, and thus, the North London club’s supporters will be intrigued by who UEFA have chosen to appoint to oversee the Champions League final.
The man in question is Daniel Siebert, who has already refereed two Arsenal matches so far this term. The German official will be supported by assistants Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn, as well as fourth official Sandro Scharer.
Bastian Dankert will be on VAR, with Robert Schroder and Carlos Del Cerro Grande supporting him.
UEFA confirm the officials for the #UCL Final.🏆
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 11, 2026
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Assistants: Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn (both from Germany)
4th Official: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
Reserve AR: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso (Spain)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (Germany)
Assistant VAR:…
Siebert has been a professional referee since 2007 and was made a FIFA referee in 2015. He was an official at the 2020 European Championship, while he’s also overseen Champions League games since the 2018/19 campaign.
The 42-year-old officiated Arsenal’s semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid earlier this month, as well as the Gunners’ 1-0 win in Lisbon back in April. He’s refereed four Arsenal matches throughout his career, handing them four yellow cards, no red cards and no penalties in the process.
| Siebert’s record refereeing Arsenal matches | |||
| Matches | Arsenal wins | Draws | Arsenal defeats |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Daniel Siebert’s performance in Sporting vs Arsenal won’t excite Bukayo Saka
While Siebert delivered relatively uncontroversial refereeing performances in each of the Arsenal games he’s overseen this season, there was an overlooked detail from the Sporting game in particular, which spells bad news for Saka ahead of the final.
Sporting defender Maxi Aruajo made seven fouls in the clash with Arsenal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium and avoided a yellow card. The Uruguayan full-back became the first defender to commit this number of fouls without receiving a booking in a Champions League match since 2017.
🤷 | Getting away with it is an art
— Sofascore Football (@Sofascore) April 7, 2026
Maximiliano Araújo has tonight become the first defender to commit 7+ fouls and avoid receiving a yellow card in a #UCL match over the last nine seasons 🤯
You can't say he didn't have a plan for keeping Noni Madueke and Max Dowman at bay 😅 pic.twitter.com/BAFyJ6wuxd
Clearly, Siebert tends to favour leniency in his officiating of football matches, and this is reflected in his general card statistics. Scrolling through his TransferMarkt page, it’s clear that the German doesn’t like to hand out cards at will.
While this may be good for keeping players on the pitch and improving the overall flow of the game, it’s not good for Arsenal’s most dangerous attacking player. Saka is constantly doubled up on, targeted and fouled by opposition players throughout matches.
PSG will likely identify Sierbert’s leniency in their preparations for the final and lean into this by impeding Saka on multiple occasions. This will stop the England international from finding his rhythm and prevent him from really influencing the showdown in Budapest.
