Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – published on Saturday, May 31, 2025, 08:56 / Updated on Saturday, May 31, 2025 08:56
Before the Champions League final, between PSG and Inter, a post dedicated to Istvan Kovacs (40 years old) on the official website of UEFA.
Istvan Kovacs will lead tonight from the center of the big match on Allianz Arena. Thus, it will become the first referee in history that leads a final in all 3 interclub competitions organized by UEFA.
Last year, Kovacs arbitrated the Europa League final, won by Atalanda in front of Bayer Leverkusen, score 3-0. In 2022, the Romanian arbitrated the final league between Rome and Feyenoord, score 1-0.
Before PSG – Inter, the European forum wanted to notice the good performances of Kovacs of the last year, but also how his career has evolved.
UEFA, posting about Istvan Kovacs: “A year to enjoy”
“On Saturday, the referee Istvan Kovacs will complete the set of finals of European interclub competitions, when he will lead the match from Munich. For Istvan Kovacs it was a year to enjoy.
12 months ago, the Romanian ended an impressive season at the club level, whistling the triumph of Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final, even before officiating two matches at Euro 2024.
At the same time, he became a father for the first time and, despite the impact of a loaded family life, enjoyed another excellent campaign in the 2024-2025 season, which led to his appointment to the final of the Champions on Saturday, from Munich.
Kovacs will thus become the first man to arbitrate the final of each of the major UEFA club competitions, after leading the inaugural final of Conference League in 2022. It will be a moment of pride for the 40-year-old referee, ”appeared on the UEFA.com website.
