Thursday, July 8, 2021 at 5:11 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 17:20

Björn Kuipers will be the referee on Sunday at the final of EURO 2020 between Italy and England, UEFA has officially announced. The 48-year-old top referee is assisted at Wembley by his regular assistants Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra. It will be Kuipers’ fourth time as a referee at a final of a major international tournament.

In the past, Kuipers was the arbitrator at the final of the Europa League in 2013, the Confederations Cup of the same year and the final battle in the Champions League in 2014. During the current European Championship, he was used by UEFA in the matches between Denmark and Belgium. (1-2), Slovakia and Spain (0-5) and the match between the Czech Republic and Denmark (1-2) in the quarterfinals. Kuipers’ chances for the final increased due to the elimination of the Dutch national team in the eighth final of the final tournament.

For Kuipers, the appointment for the European Championship final is a first, because never before has a Dutchman whistled a final battle of a European Championship or World Cup. He was previously active in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and the 2012 and 2016 European Championships. His fifth final round as a referee will probably also be his last. Kuipers wants to start thinking about his future as an arbitrator after the European Championship.

Countryman Danny Makkelie whistled the duels between Turkey and Italy (0-3), Finland and Russia (0-1) and England and Germany (2-0) at the European Championship. On Wednesday evening, he led the semi-final at Wembley between England and Denmark (2-1). The German Bastian Dankert has been appointed as VAR for the final, Pol van Boekel is one of the assistants.

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