Who is the referee for PSG vs Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup 2026 final?
worldsoccertalk.com · 14 hours ago
PSG and Aston Villa decide the first champion of the European season at the 2026 UEFA Super Cup final, where Omar Artan will be the match referee. The man in the middle for Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup 2026 final between PSG and Aston Villa is Omar Artan, a 34-year-old Somali official who becomes the first non-European referee to take charge of the fixture in its history. Artan was appointed to the match in Salzburg, Austria, in what marks his first assignment on a European pitch. The appointment carries extra weight given what Artan went through just months earlier. He was denied entry into the United States at Miami International Airport ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with U.S. authorities citing security concerns. The incident forced him out of officiating at the tournament and sparked outrage back home. Reflecting on the experience, Artan told UEFA: “A lot of people have sympathy for me, because when someone has been working a lot of years and is supposed to do something, and then can’t do it, it’s very challenging“. On his Super Cup appointment, he added: “I was lucky, but I have worked very hard to be here and I’m really proud“. Artan’s refereeing record Artan has built one of the most decorated résumés among African officials in recent years. He became the first Somali referee to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024, a milestone for a country with limited footballing infrastructure, and was subsequently recognized as Africa’s leading referee for his performances that season. #SuperCup referee Omar Artan has touched down in Salzburg 🇸🇴🛬🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/t4mwbPwFEZ— UEFA (@UEFA) August 10, 2026 His CV also includes the 2025 CAF Champions League final, one of the most prestigious club fixtures on the continent, before FIFA selected him for the 2026 World Cup — an appointment that never materialized due to his U.S. entry denial. Wednesday’s Super Cup final now stands as the biggest match of his career to date, and his first ever in Europe. The full officiating team for PSG vs Aston Villa Artan will be assisted on the touchline by Liban Abdoulrazack Ahmed of Djibouti as first assistant referee and Stephen Eleazar Onyango Yiembe of Kenya as second assistant, while Slovenia’s Rade Obrenovič takes charge as the fourth official. In the VAR booth, Marco Di Bello of Italy will serve as the Video Assistant Referee, with Guillermo Cuadra Fernández of Spain assisting him as AVAR — rounding out a team that, like Artan himself, reflects just how far UEFA has widened its pool of match officials for its showpiece fixtures.
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