Saturday, 30 May 2026

2025/26 UEFA Champions League final Paris Saint Germain (FRA) - Arsenal (ENG) - Referee Daniel Siebert (GER) - Discussion

A rather unexpected assignment for the German referee, in charge of UEFA Champions League final, good luck to his team for this milestone in the career! 


                  

30 May 2026, 18:00 CET - Puskás Aréna, Budapest (HUN)
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN FC (FRA) - ARSENAL FC (ENG)
Referee: Daniel Siebert GER 
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel GER
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Foltyn GER
Fourth Official: Sandro Schärer SUI
Reserve Assistant Referee: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso ESP 
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
Video Assistant Referee Support: Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP 
UEFA Referee Observer: Vladimir Šajn SVN
UEFA Delegate: Radenko Mijatović SVN

158 comments:

  1. Vitinha on Skelly probably the softest foul I’ve ever seen given. Seibert been very whistle happy early on.

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  2. What, I must ask, can be the case for "no handball" prior to Arsenal's goal? The arm is clearly raised high, making the body unnaturally bigger.

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    1. Are we seeing a different match? Arm is in front of his chest, not making his body bigger at all.

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    2. I speak of the other arm, Joris.

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    3. I take back my comment after an intense inspection of the video replay. The player's arm was initially away from the body, but then was directly against the body at the moment of contact. Good decision.

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  3. Looks like it hits the other arm of Trossard on the first Arsenal goal, no? That arm is well tucked in.

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    1. Yes, I really don’t understand the discussion. Pretty clearly not punishable imo

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    2. Agree JorisC.
      The potential handball at 16' is a much more interesting incident.

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    3. Neither incident punishable

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    4. Agree with Mikael W, would love to rewatch it

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    5. At first, I thought the ball clearly hit Saka's arm, but looking back, it's not so clear.

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    6. It absolutely hit Saka’s hand. AFTER he played the ball. Not a handball. Unexpected, not unnaturally bigger, deflection from own body part.

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    7. Saka’s foot has barely altered the ball’s direction or speed. In other words, he isn’t playing the ball.

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    8. First of all, it absolutely did. Second, touching the ball means you played the ball….

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  4. 30s before authorizing medical staff to came in after an head injury, that’s a weird one.

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  5. Also why not be sensible and drop the ball to the keeper and an international referee blowing the whistle for a drop ball which is not required

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    1. Not required means he doesn’t have to. Not that he isn’t allowed to. Completely appropriate when players aren’t aware that play is being restarted. Nothing wrong what so ever.

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    2. By whistling he activates play before the ball is legally live. Play not live till the ball touches the ground

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    3. Whistle isn’t required to restart a regular free kick either. Yet, you can ABSOLUTELY do it when appropriate. Same thing here. You don’t understand what ”required” means.

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    4. No you don’t understand the restart of play

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  6. A lot of people with a number of bizarre and nit picky criticisms so far in a game with very few incidents

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    1. Just here to comment his game that’s it

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    2. Probably because the game is awful. Players falling about looking for cheap fouls which to be fair he is not giving.

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  7. What Arteta is allowed to do is incredible.

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  8. Frustrated PSG players with Arsenal players trying to stop every quick play, it’s gonna be important for Siebert to manage this perfectly.

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  9. Excellent decision to stop the play and give HT when arsenal player is taking so long to play the CK

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    1. I agree! Sends a clear message and he has 15 minutes to explain his reasoning and calm frustrations about it

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    2. Absolutely, but it seems he made it for the wrong reason (getting ‘annoyed’ rather than making a considered tactical choice). Overall decent performance in a bizarre/poor 1half for football.

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    3. Agree @Mikael he neees to make it clearer pretty quick if he wants to control the 2nd half especially with throw in

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  10. I think Siebert delivered one of the worst first-half performances in UEFA Champions League final history. It was a very poor refereeing display.

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    1. Thats absolute rubbish and you know it

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    2. No one talking about the referee after first half. Only trolls.

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  11. A very poor first half in terms of quality from the teams.

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  12. Extremley good first half from Siebert! Especially I like the way that he manage the last corner kick for waste the time. Pretty satisfied!

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  13. Don't mind him not allowing the corner. If its over the added time and the attacking team are taking ages why wait

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  14. Positive showing from Siebert, finally took action on time wasting by not letting the corner at the end be taken, the Saka handball incident is interesting, Siebert will need to be sharp in 2nd half

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  15. A good first half from Siebert in my opinion. The goal incident for me is clearly not a punishable handball and a good call to allow the goal. The Saka "handball" again for me is not a punishable handball also. Managing the game fairly well and has displayed a high level of technical accuracy and good sensible refereeing throughout.
    The temperature of this game will no doubt increase in the second half so Siebert will need to be ok his toes to manage the game effectively and well and ensure time is managed as that will be a key sticking point for the game.

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  16. Not the best game management by Siebert. He is not really doing much about Arsenal’s clear time wasting…and then decides to blow for half time before an Arsenal corner. May have been taking their time but you would always expect the corner to be taken. Especially when Arsenal are so prolific at them.

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    1. I absolutely agreed with you, PSG doesn’t want to the corner,Arsenal want the corner and waiting whole game. Now he seems taking PSG side with unnecessary call

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  17. Excellent decision to blow half time whistle for Arsenal time wasting. Before the corner two players gave the ball to a third one who finally made the throw in. I'd like to see a yc in such a situation. But it is an awful game with many interruptions and time wasting and Siebert tries his best not to come into the spotlights.

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  18. Overall done well not giving in to two poor teams and looking for soft fouls. Should allow the taking of the corner kick as UEFA instructed previously to end the half/game in a neutral area

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  19. That was Unnecessary by Daniel Siebert! He start to create unwanted attention and if you going half time to start don’t give it!!!

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  20. Here’s a natural English translation that preserves the tone and meaning of your text:

    Siebert is a robotic referee with no soul and no personality. His ability to interact with players is close to absolute zero. He remains virtually unresponsive to Arsenal’s constant time-wasting tactics. Technically and physically, there is little to criticize, but from a human and game-management perspective, he is simply not at the level required for a Champions League final.

    The incident where he awarded a corner at the very end of stoppage time only to blow for halftime immediately afterward is a perfect illustration of this: no proactivity, no effective management of a team that continuously disrupts the restart of play, and no meaningful reaction from the referee. Sorry, but not everyone can be a Danny Makkelie, a François Letexier, or a Slavko Vinčić.

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    1. +1 and that’s probably why he is not going to the WC not a big personality especially when you compare him to other top EU refs

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    2. This comment is a great moment for me and my tin foil hat! :D

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    3. I let the first sentence just to see you comment Mikael. And I m not surprised.

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    4. Sorry no because Markus Merk, Hellmut Krug or Félix Brych were german too and not with this lack of personality.

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  21. Why not whistle when there is a PSG player down in the box. Obviously not s severe injury, but a potential obstacle. Psg got possession on 40 m. Keep it simple.

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  23. Potential handball at 16':
    www.streambug.org/cv/56f02d

    The only criteria possible to give this handball, as VG has rightly said, would be "completely deliberate handball", for making a second movement (because the ball had already been played before). I think the burden of proof for giving that decision falls some way short of what happens in this incident; correct play on.

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    1. It doesn't look to me at all like he played the ball. At least, I don't see any clear change in the ball's movement.

      Everyone else probably has better eyesight than me.

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  24. After watching it back, I think that's a handball on Saka. Not from the first time the ball makes contact with his person but after that, his hand moves towards the ball and handles it with his left hand.

    On a side note, the broadcast should be displaying more replays from various angles. Lackluster production tonight.

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  25. Good first half performance from the German Siebert lets see what the second half will bring title deciding moments

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  26. If I was Daniel I would hammer the first case of delaying tactics by Arsenal for the sake of his game management.

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  27. And he just did. Bravo.

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  28. https://x.com/i/status/2060761541134135371

    And what about this?

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    1. That’s an interesting one

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    2. In the replay, it looked absolutely accidentally. Never careless

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  29. At last he remembered his cards for the second half, cheap one tho!!!

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  30. Fantastic yellow card for delaying the restart, taking no nonsense from Arsenal's delaying tactics.

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    1. If the YC doesn’t work he needs to be consistent tho

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    2. The following Arsenal throw-in took about 3 seconds!

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    3. Just think next season the throw will also get reversed

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  31. Very delayed call on Saka there, not convincing

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    1. Agree not convincing for the players but good call imo.

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  32. Acceptable YC for Saka. Reckless challenge.

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  33. Very good decision yellow card to Saka

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  34. That did look like a penalty

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    1. Definitely a penalty. Good decision.

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    2. I don’t think the captains protocol helped Siebert in the semifinal (Koke was ‘on his case’ from very early in the game) but the German used it very well here. Correct penalty and correct non-SYC, clearly not reckless and neither SPA because ‘Kvaradona’ played for the award rather than continuing to attack normally.

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    3. Of course, careless and SPA would be no YC anyway! :)

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  35. Clear penalty, well done Siebert.

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  36. Now all freekicks for PSG!!!!

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  37. Good decision just hate the mobbing which is more about delaying the kick than anything

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    1. I concur, thought it is difficult with the behavior of the teams. But I wish Siebert was more strict and booked one player from each team when others besides the captain approached him.

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  38. Penalty only or do we think penalty and 2YC for the attacker? For me I'm satisfied with penalty only

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  39. 2YC is debattable, imo not clear DOGSO

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  40. Correct no 2nd YC call imo

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  41. Good call by Arteta to sub Mosquera. One foul away from a 2nd YC.

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  42. Correct PK on-field. Can understand PSG asking for a 2nd yellow but not 100% clear for me

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  43. There's nothing to discuss.
    Mosquera hit Kvaratskhelia before touching the ball. Unlucky for him that he didn't touch the ball first. Well done, Siebert.

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  44. Wonderful officiating by the ref in the second half the German was spot on

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    1. Far more commanding 2nd half performance. Looks like he received a pep talk from his colleagues to up his game with the problem areas nailed very quickly

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  45. Strong second half performance from Siebert, good game management and foul detection. For me it's been a very good performance across both halves so far and he will need to continue that as extra time approaches.

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  46. Terrible freekick again for PSG!! Don't you see!!

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    1. You must be an Arsenal fan wearing rose-tinted glasses. Your grasp of the rules is simply incomprehensible

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  47. GREAT YELLOW CARDS FOR DECLAN RICE AND ARTETA I DONT CARE PENALTY OR NOT PERFECT 2 YC

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  48. One of the best no penalty calls that I have ever seen. Bravo Siebert! After that correct disciplinary deicisions!

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    1. That’s exaggerated but Siebert was absolutely correct, there are no grounds to award a penalty there.

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    2. Excellent decision. 2 players muscling each other both fall down no foul. Good to see protests dealt with strongly as well. Arsenal bench a disgrace

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    3. Just positive emotion came from me when I saw such no penalty decision! But it for compliment! :)

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  49. Excellent no penalty call and excellent cards for dissent afterwards.

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  50. Masterclass: No penalty for Arsenal. Absolutely right + strict against mobbing

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  51. For me a clear foul, but seems to be outside the box

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  52. That’s a hard one to call (PK). For me it’s six of one— there’s pulling by both opponents and for me the right outcome was met.

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  53. An EXCELLENT no PK call now, followed by correct disciplinary actions. Well done here!

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  54. A penalty for Arsenal that I believe several referees would have called, but the German referee applied his very well-known style here. It's absolutely correct by VAR to support it, but I think 9 out of 10 referees would have awarded a penalty based on pitch's feeling.
    It can be read that the Arsenal player used contact, being ahead of opponent for that reason.
    But fans accept the simplest explanation: penalty.
    In the recent games, the German seems to have an unwritten rule, avoiding to assign a penalty if not 100% sure.

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    1. Arsenal player is doing all the holding and dragging defender down, if anything if he gives a defensive free kick we are not arguing

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    2. Think 9 out of 10 is a bit generous. 50/50 call that’s going to be a room splitter in a lot of referee training get togethers.

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  55. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  56. I don't think it's as obviously a no-penalty as others here, because the defender did indeed place his arm across the chest of the attacker with somewhat . Yet the defender himself could be said to have grabbed the attacker's arm. Either call could be supported by the VAR Dankert.

    No-penalty fits better into Siebert's style of not trying to make refereeing "the story" of this game.

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    1. I meant to say: "with somewhat significant force"

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    2. He doesn't want to be a decider with a call, this was already clear in senifinal, correct remark.

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    3. Siebert refereeing often makes him the centre of the story,especially in the Bundesliga ,by not refereeing to the laws of the game ,an extremely poor choice for a final referee

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  57. IMO worldclass no Penalty call. You can clearly see the holding from both players and for me excellent to play on

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  58. My god!! One team getting most calls if arsenal don’t win this!! The will be accusations about referee

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    1. PSG 4-3 on penalties not allowed to have all 3 trophies in one country. Especially them. They will want the 4th one in Jully

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  59. The potential penalty incident involving Arsenal closely resembles the penalty awarded to France against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final, a decision in which the German referee was not successful.

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  60. IMO it would have been better to call a penalty, but the decision is still supportable. VAR would not have intervened under any circumstances

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    1. In that case do away with VAR completely ,it has to be used for all possible penalty decision or none at all

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    2. Obviously they looked at it and listened to what he had to say. If there is nothing reviewed that inherently changes the picture the check complete

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  61. Penalty area incident:
    https://streamff.com/v/88d37c5d

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  62. A very good performance in a challenging game. 3 KMIs called correctly. Very good and firm stance against dissent

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  63. An ok first half performance followed up by a more commanding in control style. Correct no penalty call in extra time. Most folk viewing will know he was not a popular choice as referee. Indeed I don’t view him as a top UCL referee. Indeed the end Rossetti will be happy overall

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  64. Overall siebert deserves praise after his first half

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  65. Before these KFTPM,and I really hope nothing controversial happens, I thought Siebert had a reasonably good game overall. For me, and it’s only my opinion, he got the big calls right. All of his disciplinary cards were correct in law and merited. A couple of things could be discussed on game management but a decent game overall.

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  66. No penalty incident at 102':
    streambug.org/cv/04aab2

    Madueke always performs this play where he gets in front of the defender, falls without the defender having made a challenge, and using the tangle of legs to try and claim a penalty. In order to prepare for this move, you can see Madueke grabs Mendes' arm (not vice versa). There are no grounds to call this a foul, and Siebert was absolutely correct.

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  67. Rather amateurish to do the goalkeeper chat after the first player is already at the penalty mark ready to take the kick!

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  68. o analyze this performance, I have to start from the assumption that the German referee Daniel Siebert has never fully convinced me in the years. One argument is that, throughout his career, he has changed his approach, whether necessarily or not, for different reasons. Unlike some other referees, he is not easily identifiable with a specific archetype or a fairly consistent approach in the years.
    Recently, I have had the impression that, perhaps mindful of the lessons he received in the past, said with all due respect, during those particularly difficult periods at UEFA level, when he was often criticized for applying the Laws of the Game in a very strict manner, he has adopted a different approach.
    Nowadays, he seems more inclined not to take strong positions, to keep the game moving, and to intervene as little as possible.
    As long as the decisions remain supportable, as in the case of the penalty not awarded to Arsenal, that can be acceptable. However, this type of refereeing, avoiding strong decisions or direct involvement in the game, can certainly leave a bitter taste.
    In my opinion, the referee himself has consciously chosen this approach for his own professional convenience.
    As for the rest of the match, the penalty awarded to PSG was absolutely correct. His refereeing was better in the second half and extra time than in the first half, where he may have struggled a little at times.
    Handball incidents should be assessed individually because, as we know, they are often complex situations. In any case, I don't make my overall evaluation of the performance based on those incidents.
    In the end, speaking with complete honesty and simply expressing what I think, I would say that the performance will probably be considered largely satisfactory by committee. However, the idea of having a referee whose main objective is simply to limit potential damage, rather than actively manage the match, is not something I particularly appreciate. More generally, I don't have, to explain the feeling when he ends a game, the clear idea of "fully clean" performance. But of course that's also personal opinion.
    The good thing is that he ended with a correct penalty call and no VAR involvments, that's really much, however in terms of attitude, not the best referee for me.
    That said, it is important to remain objective and acknowledge that, overall, he did not perform poorly. In one way or another, he got this final over the line successfully.
    As for the penalty that was not awarded, I think the truth lies somewhere in between. We cannot describe the decision not to award a penalty as an exceptional call. Had he awarded a foul,perhaps even against the defender out of conviction, it could have been perceived differently. My impression is that he simply chose to suspend judgment and avoid making a decisive call, and that is the aspect I do not like. Many referees in that situation would have awarded the penalty, VAR would not have intervened, and the decision would have been accepted.

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    1. Chefren: While I am in concurrence with most of your comment, I disagree in one main area: the postulation that Siebert "avoided strong decisions or direct involvement in the game" and did not "actively manage the game".

      While this claim would have fit perfectly onto Siebert's semifinal performance, I think his work today was much better in this area. He took adequately strong decisions to enforce the Law when needed, such as the early second half yellow card to Arsenal for Delaying the Restart of Play, and the yellow cards to Rice and Arteta for dissent following the no-penalty decision. Further yellow cards were not later needed in those areas because the participants adapted their behavior. The Delaying YC in particular was a great example of how a stricter enforcement of the law can lead to a more entertaining match.

      Siebert was not *maximally* as strict as possible, yet he enforced the law when necessary or beneficial. He managed to stay in the background of the game *without* simply ignoring his enforcement duties, which is a difficult accomplishment.

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    2. @Chefren: I have been following the blog silently for many years and enjoy your insights and opinions. However, here I really don't see your point. What exactly should Siebert have done differently? You make it sound, in my opinion, like he deliberately decided against a penalty to not make headlines or a "decisive call". However, any penalty (non)decision will make headlines and have consequences, will it not? Also, he definitively showed guts by not awarding the corner and acting against dissent.

      So for okce I don't really understand your point here...

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  69. Off topic.
    The penalty missed by Arsenal is the perfect example of the stupidity that players reach nowadays. Instead of focusing on how to take a penalty properly from a technical point of view, their minds are obsessed with dancing, showing off, making feints before the kick, trying to mock the goalkeeper. Actually kicking the ball almost becomes optional. Incredible. Just watch it.
    I mean, it almost looks like everything except taking a penalty kick. Psychologically, it's very easy to understand why that penalty ended up being missed and sent wide.

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  70. Well after all, the Daniel Siebert deserve the praise for Very Good officiating(my final mark for him) in this game. Always under control, strict rule enfrocerz the style that was ideal for this game. Two excellent no penalty calls, one correct penalty given. Disciplinary and technically very correct and consistent throguh all game. So congrats to him and his team, as also to Uefa RC. Three finals went ideal for them, and this years Finals selection was BINGO for them. Maybe the first time from when Rosseti is there that all three finals was very complimetary in officiating way.

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  71. time in selecting the final referee, as he did not manage the match well. Overall, his performance was weak: excessive leniency with cards, incorrect fouls awarded, and poor judgment in making decisive decisions. Therefore, I can confidently say that this was one of the weakest refereeing performances in the history of the UEFA Champions League final.

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  72. I can imagine Collina regretting choosing Zwayer instead of Siebert for the World Cup. lol

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    1. Hahahahahaha good comment, good comedian.

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    2. Rather have Zwayer anyday ,far better referee ,with Siebert your never sure ,what version is going to turn up.

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    3. If you're a Zwayer fan, don't you think Siebert's performance today was worthy of being at the World Cup?

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    4. So Ceferin hands out the medals at all 3 finals. Siebert received the least gratitude. Not a popular appointment

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    5. @Whistlersmum I was going to say, usually a very hearty handshake. Today, not so much

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    6. @Lincoln, colina is fair, 4 years of work not resume a single season. Siebert is a robot whistling not personality at all, players do not trust him and his decisions, and his physical condition is to laugh. Something that felix has from miles of distance. Colina is much fair than rosetti.

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    7. @whistlersmum with Felix he literally hugged him

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    8. @ZwayerBrazil: It is getting ridiculous by now. You always complain about your "Felix" being treated unfairly and that any criticism is too harsh. The only comments that you left today was bashing Siebert whereever possible, and now this comment with some random points without any reasoning. Hypocracy much?

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    9. Zwayer Brasil, it would be nice if you were able to accept a good performance. You often insist to be fair with Zwayer - and you are right. But then, be fair with Siebert as well. He is a very good referee and he showed it tonight

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    10. @ZwayerBrazil: I am sure your idol strongly disagree with your absurd comments about his colleague Siebert who delivered a good performance today. Your comments here today are simply ridiculous.

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    11. Sorry but was true. Ceferin was very very happy and made a hug to Letexier. Here was very very cold attitude…

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    12. Zwayer: deserves to go to the WC as German no1 but failed in the key inflection point match of his CL season, Bilbao-Sporting, which in the end probably cost him doing this final himself.

      Siebert+WC: I agree with Collina and Busacca that it was better to choose Zwayer for the WC, and it seems nearly impossible that Siebert will work any FIFA tournament again.

      CL final appmnt: Every six months, Rosetti gives a speech to the referees at a conference. If he chose Zwayer for this final, he cannot stand up and say "performances in our competitions matter". If he chose Mariani, he cannot say "we choose the best referees regardless of their association". If he chose Scharer, he cannot say "availability for appointments is very important to us". Given that choosing Pinheiro was surely impermissible, Siebert was the last man standing (as I predicted would be the case in early April!). It was surely well understood that the Berlin official's route to the final was thus. However, the adage goes 'the proof is in the pudding', and there wasn't too much to argue with in Siebert's refereeing today. Given that this game went well, I think it should help his profile and acceptance moving forward. As said, 26/27 will be an extremely interesting season to monitor the German refs' standing in UEFA competitions!

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  73. Great performance from Siebert. Nailed the big decisions, convincingly sold the one big decision that could have gone either way, and managed both a relatively strict disciplinary level regarding time wasting and dissent whilst remaining mostly non-protagonistic in one's overall impression of the match. It is not an easy task to balance those two features!

    UEFA definitely picked a good referee for the final, to cap off a wonderful season. It's sad that it's too late for FIFA to take Siebert to the World Cup, because I think it should be clear that this version of Siebert would be a great addition to FIFA's plans. For the 42-year-old German, he can set his goals on being a leading referee at Euro 2028 and World Cup 2030.

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    1. Not putting in such a 2 nd half performance is exactly the reason he’s not USA bound

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  74. Superb performance from Siebert... he can be very proud of himself.

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  75. After this fantastic display I'm very sure Siebert will replace a referee who has been underperforming lately. It would be farcical to not bring Europe's by far best referee. Predicting Siebert to take Makkelie's place, the latter has simply not been good enough lately and doesn't belong in World Cup. Siebert has a unique skillset that is perfect for WC, and he could well be the one to get the final.

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  76. Clearly, the nature of the game helped Daniel Siebert. I agree with the consensus above - the first was okay/decent, after that the level of refereeing was good. There is room for discussion about the Saka handball, but the Kvara penalty and Makueke non-penalty were unambiguously correct. I don't think the reflexive reaction from this match would be 'wow, Siebert was robbed of a WC berth', but he did justify the most surprising CL final appmnt since 1995. There was no repeat of what happened in 2006. To add to what Whistlersmum said above - some people's behaviour regarding this appointment did not cover themselves in exclusively the best light, to be completely honest. From this pov, I'm very happy that the final went well. Overall, after a season which did not pass ideally, I think the committee can be not only satisfied, but more-or-less delighted with how the finals were handled (but, again, the level of each match was always relatively benign). In Germany, assuming UEFA will still only choose eighteen European referees, there will now be a big fight to reach Euro 2028. It is clear to me that Rosetti sees Jablonski as 'Letexier 2.0', a young referee who perfectly coheres to the Italian's vision for refereeing in the 2020s. I think he would very much like to select Jablonski for the British-hosted Euro, if he continues his positive trajectory in the next 18/24months. This would leave Zwayer and Siebert fighting for one spot. But, these discussions should be immaterial for now. There is no better feeling in the world than delivering and refereeing well one of the biggest games in the world, and Daniel Siebert has done that today! Well done to him.

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  77. Thinking that for the next season, Makkelie will go all in to try and reach the end once again. In 2027, he will be 44 years old. If he doesn't succeed, it's difficult to do so, but it will be the end of the line for him.

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  79. Actually, this has to be one of the most remarkable Champions League runs of all time. Siebert was appointed in every single round of the tournament and concluded his season with a precise and flawless final performance.
    It's impressive how far Siebert has come after his Uruguay-Ghana and Atletico-City disaster games. Other international careers were finished after similar performances. E.g., his German colleagues Gräfe and Aytekin never recovered from their infamous Real-Juventus and Barca-PSG games. But Siebert did it. He worked hard, reinvented his style, adopted to international requirements and came back stronger than ever. Nothing but respect.

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