The referee for the Champions League final has faced significant criticism in the past.

Daniel Siebert is set to officiate the Champions League final between Arsenal and PSG, yet his controversial past at the 2022 World Cup, along with harsh criticism from Edinson Cavani, is being brought up again.

Referee Daniel Siebert will become the center of attention after being assigned by UEFA to take charge of the 2026 Champions League final between Arsenal and PSG. Although he is one of the most experienced officials in the Bundesliga, the German black-clad referee still carries a controversial memory from the 2022 World Cup, where he was publicly and fiercely criticized by forward Edinson Cavani.

The controversy erupted after Uruguay's 2-0 victory over Ghana in the final round of the 2022 World Cup group stage. Despite securing all three points, the South American side was eliminated due to falling behind South Korea on goals scored after the Asian team defeated Portugal. Emotions boiled over after the final whistle, leading to intense reactions toward the officiating crew, and this story is being recalled before Siebert officiates the Champions League final the first in his career.

Cavani was one of the most vehemently reacting players. The former Manchester United striker even smashed the VAR screen in anger. When asked about the match officiating, the Uruguayan marksman did not hesitate to declare: "They should throw him in jail. If they punish me for smashing the VAR screen, then the referee—the one who got us eliminated from the World Cup—should also be thrown in jail."

The fury of the Uruguayan players stemmed from the team repeatedly appealing for penalties but being denied. The feeling of injustice led many players to rush at the match officials right after the final whistle. Some Uruguayan members even followed Siebert into the stadium tunnel to continue questioning the controversial decisions.

Nevertheless, Cavani later called on football authorities to view the players' reactions from an emotional perspective. He argued that lawmakers need to put themselves in the players' shoes during decisive moments. The striker said: "Such things still happen. People need to side a bit more with the players, not just with the referees, to understand what happened and why everything turned out that way."

The Uruguayan star continued to defend his viewpoint, emphasizing: "It's true that we have to maintain proper behavior, but we are also human. When you live with football with all your passion, work hard to be here and compete at this level, sometimes emotional reactions are unavoidable. It's not excusable, but it can be understood more."

Despite the past controversies, Siebert continued to receive UEFA's trust as he was assigned to officiate at Euro 2024. However, he was later not selected by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup. Before the Arsenal vs PSG match, the German referee also brought a positive feeling to the English representatives, having officiated two 1-0 victories for the Gunners against Sporting CP and Atletico Madrid this season. However, given what happened at the 2022 World Cup, all of Siebert's decisions in the upcoming Champions League final will certainly be scrutinized more closely than ever before.