The referee has been confirmed for Tottenham’s Europa League final against Manchester United.
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Tottenham and Manchester United now know which referee will take charge of their Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21. We are now just over a week away from the Europa League final, and it’s no secret that both Spurs and United are already planning for their trips to the Basque Country.
With nothing to play for in the Premier League and Champions League football available to the Europa League winner, both sides are placing all emphasis on winning the competition, and understandably so.
Given the poor form of both teams this season, it’s going to be a tough one to call, and so often a game of fine margins, there are many different potential difference-makers, including the referee
Europa League final 2025 referee confirmed
Tottenham and Manchester United now know that the referee for the Europa League final in Bilbao will be Felix Zwayer. The experienced official recently refereed Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Paris. In that game, Zwayer gave PSG a penalty for a handball on Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Zwayer has refreed two Tottenham games previously, and neither ended particularly well for the London club. He oversaw a 4-2 Champions League win for Barcelona in North London in 2018, and also a 1-1 Europa League knockout play-off stage first leg draw with Fiorentina in 2016.
As for United, Zwayer has refereed four games in all, and the Red Devils did not lose any of those. His last was United’s Europa League quarter-final first leg draw with Sevilla in 2023, and before that, he oversaw their Champions League group stage win over Villarreal in 2021.
The other games included a Champions League group stage win over Benfica in 2017 and a Europa League last 16 first leg away draw with Rostov.
Postecoglou on Tottenham’s situation
Speaking ahead of the Europa League final, Postecoglou addressed Tottenham’s disappointing season, their injury issues and the need for silverware. he said: “When you look at the historical backdrop of this club and what it has been on for the last 20-odd years, I feel like it could be a turning point in terms of the way the club is perceived but also more how it perceives itself, which is the biggest thing.
“Because until you do that, irrespective of what else you accomplish, people are always going to say ‘but you have not won anything’. In our game, and in life in general I guess, those are the things that matter most when people assess where you’re at. That’s the hurdle this club has to overcome because it’ll always be there. Until you actually do it, then you are fair game for people to say you have always kind of fluffed it on the big stage. Irrespective of what the opposition say or what anyone else says, what you’ve got to try and do is break that cycle.
“We’ve done a lot of heavy lifting in the last two years. We’ve signed a lot of young players with the right kind of thinking for the future. That’s costing us now because we don’t have a squad that can cope with what it’s going through now. It is not just psychological, it is about trying to change a whole range of things but also have that piece [of silverware]. My view was that’s what I’ll get judged on. I could have been sitting here fifth last year, fifth this year and maybe people wouldn’t be waiting for the white smoke to see if it’s my last one, but they would still be saying: ‘You know Ange, that’s great but it has all been done before. Until this club wins something, you haven’t made an impact.’ I kind of knew throughout my tenure that’s what I was going to be judged on, so now we have an opportunity to do that.”