Clément Turpin has been appointed to referee the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid on May 28 at the Stade de France, UEFA announced on Wednesday, a first in 36 years for a Frenchman. The nearly 40-year-old referee (he will celebrate them on Monday) will be accompanied by his compatriots Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore, as assistants, and by Benoît Bastien as fourth referee.
An international referee for a dozen years, Turpin will be on the whistle of a C1 final for the first time in his career, after being fourth referee in the 2018 final which had already pitted Real Madrid and Liverpool (3-1 victory for the Spaniards).
The one who became the youngest referee in Ligue 1 in 2008, at 26, had already officiated last season in the Europa League final won on penalties by Villarreal against Manchester United. On May 28, he will become the sixth Frenchman to referee a final of the most challenging European Cups, after Robert Héliès (1972), Michel Kitabdjian (1975), Robert Wurtz (1977), Georges Konrath (1982) and Michel Vautrot (1986), according to the French Football Federation.
“This is excellent news for French refereeing, which is progressing from year to year in the international hierarchy. Our referees are now present at every major competition”, welcomed the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, in a press release.
Pascal Garibian, Technical Director of Refereeing, sees in this designation “recognition of the excellent season carried out by Clément Turpin” and “recognition of the constant progress made by French refereeing”. “France now has three Elite UEFA referees, the highest level in Europe, with Clément Turpin, Benoît Bastien and François Letexier. It’s unheard of,” he said.