UEFA has officially confirmed the refereeing team for the highly anticipated UEFA Europa League final, which will see Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United clash in Bilbao on May 21. This European showdown will not only decide the new champions of the competition but will also grant the victor a coveted spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
For Tottenham, this marks a significant opportunity to return to Europe’s top tier, having last lifted the trophy during its UEFA Cup days. Spurs famously triumphed in 1972 and again in 1984, building a proud European legacy that they hope to add to with another continental crown.
Manchester United, on the other hand, will be seeking to add a second Europa League title to their collection. The Red Devils won the competition most recently in 2017 under the guidance of then-manager José Mourinho, defeating Ajax in the final.
Ahead of this monumental clash, UEFA has revealed that Felix Zwayer, a seasoned and well-known official from Germany, will take charge of proceedings on the night. Zwayer will be joined on the touchlines by his compatriots Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, who have been appointed as assistant referees. The fourth official for the final will be Maurizio Mariani from Italy.
This will not be Zwayer’s first time officiating either team. Over the course of his refereeing career, he has overseen four matches involving Manchester United—games from which United have emerged victorious twice and drawn twice, maintaining an unbeaten record under his officiating. Tottenham, however, have not fared as well, recording one draw and one loss in the two matches Zwayer has overseen involving the North London club.
Despite being considered one of UEFA’s top-tier referees, Zwayer’s career has not been without controversy. Notably, in 2005, he was suspended for six months after being implicated in a match-fixing scandal involving fellow referee Robert Hoyzer. Zwayer was found to have accepted a €300 (£250) bribe to influence a game—an incident that has continued to follow him.
That scandal resurfaced in the public eye in 2021, when Jude Bellingham, then a young star at Borussia Dortmund, criticized Zwayer after a controversial penalty decision during a Bundesliga clash with Bayern Munich. Bellingham referenced Zwayer’s past, saying: “You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany—what do you expect?” The remarks led to UEFA fining the England midfielder €40,000 for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Interestingly, Zwayer went on to officiate England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands, a match in which Bellingham featured once again, indicating that UEFA continues to place trust in Zwayer’s ability despite past controversies.
Zwayer’s most recent assignment involving an English club came just days ago, when he refereed Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final second leg—a game that drew attention for its intensity and contentious moments.
With a dramatic final expected in Bilbao, all eyes will be on Felix Zwayer and his team as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United vie for European glory.
