Aston Villa will face SC Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on May 20
Unai Emery celebrates during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Semi-Final Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Villa Park
UEFA has made a big decision ahead of the Europa League final.
Aston Villa will face SC Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on May 20, after beating Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest 4-1 on aggregate in their semi-final.
After losing the first leg 1-0 at the City Ground, Villa romped to a 4-0 triumph in the second leg at Villa Park thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia and a double from John McGinn.
Freiburg booked their place in the final with victory over Sporting Braga, winning 4-3 on aggregate.
UEFA has confirmed the referee team appointments for the final, with Frenchman Francois Letexier named the referee for the match.
“An international referee since 2017, the 37-year-old French has this season taken charge of eight UEFA Champions League matches – including the quarter-final return leg between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP,” said UEFA.
“This will be his second UEFA competition final as a referee after having officiated Spain vs England in the UEFA EURO 2024 final.
“He also refereed the 2023 UEFA Super Cup between Manchester City and Sevilla FC, and was the fourth official of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final.
“He took charge of four matches at UEFA EURO 2024.”
Europa League final referee team appointments:
Referee: Francois Letexier (France)
Assistants: Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni (both from France)
4th Official: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández (Spain)
Reserve AR: José Enrique Naranjo Pérez (Spain)
VAR: Jérôme Brisard (France)
Assistant VAR: Willy Delajod (France)
VAR Support: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
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