UEFA Appoint Skomina To Handle Champions League Final

By Max Wise

The Union of European Football Association(UEFA) have confirmed that referee Damir Skomina will be in charge of the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on June 1.

The Slovenian international referee will be taking charge of his first ever Champions League final but he has already been at the helm of some top matches in European football.

Skomina was the man in the middle when Manchester United defeated Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 to lift the UEFA Europa League in 2017, and was also in charge of the 2012 UEFA Super Cup game between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

The 42-year-old has already courted controversy in this season’s Champions League when he awarded Manchester United a late penalty against French champions Paris Saint Germain following a VAR review in the round of 16 at the Parc des Princes.

Skomina’s decision sparked an outburst from Neymar, who was later issued with a three-game ban for questioning the integrity of the match officials.

Skomina has already taken charge of a Liverpool game in this season’s competition- a 1-0 victory over Napoli in the last group stage game at Anfield which sealed the Reds’ progress into the knockout round.

Assisting Skomina in the final will be fellow Slovakians Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan. The fourth official will be Antonio Mateu Lahoz from Spain.

Danny Makkelie from the Netherlands will oversee VAR duties for the day, and will be supported by countryman Pol van Boekel, plus German officials Felix Zwayer, and Mark Borsch.