Herbert Fandel to officiate Champions League final

Photo: Herbert Fandel to officiate Champions League final

Herbert Fandel is to be referee on Wednesday's Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan in Athens.

UEFA said Monday that the 43-year-old German would officiate his first Champions League final. Fandel also took charge of last season's UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where Sevilla defeated Middlesbrough 4-0.

Fandel became a referee in 1979 and began officiating in the Bundesliga in 1996, stepping up to international level in 1998.

He refereed at the European Under-21 finals in Slovakia in 2000, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany.

Fandel has refereed 17 Champions League games - the last was AS Roma's 2-1 win over Manchester United in the first leg of this season's quarterfinals on April 4.

He will be assisted by the men who helped him officiate that game in Rome - Carsten Kadach and Volker Wezel are his assistant referees and Florian Meyer is the fourth official.

The match is a repeat of the 2005 final in Istanbul, Turkey. Liverpool rallied from 3-0 at halftime to defeat AC Milan on penalty kicks for its fifth European title. AC Milan has won the European Cup six times.