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Date: 13/05/2002 No. 80 - 2002

Referee appointed for UEFA Champions League final

Swiss referee to handle Wednesday’s game at , Glasgow

UEFA has appointed the match officials for the final of the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Real Madrid CF to be played on Wednesday 15 May at Hampden Park in Glasgow, kicking-off at 19.45 local time (20.45 CET).

43-year-old Swiss referee Urs Meier has been selected to officiate at the final and his team will be completed by Francesco Buragina and Felix Zuger, who will operate as Assistant Referees, plus Massimo Busacca, who will act as Fourth Official.

Urs Meier, born in the Swiss town of Würenlos, made his international debut at an Under- 16 match between the Republic of Ireland and England in Dublin in April 1994. His first match in a UEFA club competition was between FC Skonto and Aberdeen FC in Riga in August of the same year. He made his UEFA Champions League debut at Ewood Park in November 1995 during a 0-0 draw between Blackburn Rovers FC and Legia Warszawa.

After handling the France v Spain fixture (1-0) which heralded the inauguration of the Stade de France in Paris Saint-Denis in January 1998, he went on to referee the USA v Iran and Nigeria v Denmark matches during the 1998 World Cup finals. During the EURO 2000 finals, he officiated at the Denmark v Netherlands (0-3) match in Rotterdam and the England v Romania (2-3) game in Charleroi.

Even though he has handled 72 international matches, his contacts with Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Real Madrid CF have been minimal. He met Real Madrid CF on 25 October 2000 when the Spanish team defeated Sporting Clube de Portugal 4-0 at home in the UEFA Champions League. He has also encountered Bayer 04 Leverkusen on one occasion – or three, if you prefer to look at it that way. During the current UEFA Champions League campaign he was at the Stadio delle Alpi on 17 November and, due to the thick fog in Turin, had to call off the UEFA Champions League match between Juventus FC and Klaus Toppmöller’s side. He was back in Turin a week later – and once again had to postpone the match for the same reason. It was third time lucky on Thursday 25 November, when the game was finally played – although not too lucky for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who were beaten 4-0.

This will be Urs Meier’s third visit to Glasgow but his first to Hampden Park. He visited the Scottish city in November 1999 to handle the match at Ibrox Park between Rangers FC and BV Borussia Dortmund and returned to the same venue for the qualifying match last August when Rangers FC were held to a 0-0 draw by the Turkish champions Fenerbahçe SK, who thus earned a place in the first group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

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