UEFA appoint controversial referee for Europa League final between Man Utd and Spurs

UEFA have confirmed their match official appointment for the Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United.

Spurs and United face off in Bilbao on May 21, with the winner earning a spot in next season's Champions League.

Spurs have won the competition on two previous occasions under its UEFA Cup guise, in 1972 and 1984.

United, meanwhile, lifted the Europa League in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.

UEFA have confirmed that German referee Felix Zwayer has been appointed as the referee for the final.

His assistants will be fellow German officials Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, while the fourth official is Maurizio Mariani of Italy.

Zwayer has officiated United on a total of four occasions during his career, with the Manchester club winning two and drawing two of those matches.

Spurs, meanwhile, are winless - drawn one, lost one - in the two matches in which the German has been the referee.

He is regarded by UEFA as one of their top officials, though has been embroiled in controversy at different stages in his career.

In 2005, Zwayer was given a six-month ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal after he was found to have accepted a £250 bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer.

His ban was brought up by Jude Bellingham after he made a contentious decision during Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021.

Felix Zwayer is returning to Dortmund for the semifinal England vs. Netherlands. The last time Zwayer was in Dortmund Bellingham said this after the game: pic.twitter.com/aVwBAhLEvd

— Mastermind (@Mastermind_09) July 8, 2024

The England midfielder was fined €40,000 by UEFA for 'unsportsmanlike conduct' after he said of Zwayer's decision to award Bayern a penalty for a handball by defender Mats Hummels: "You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"

Zwayer was subsequently placed in charge of England's Euro 2024 semi-final against Netherlands, which Bellingham played in.

His most recent match in charge of an English club was Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final second leg last Wednesday.