Who is Clément Turpin, the referee for Liverpool - Real Madrid Champions League final?
Frenchman Clément Turpin, who took charge of last year’s Europa League final, will be the man in the middle for Liverpool - Real Madrid in Paris.
We’re just days away from the biggest game in club football and excitement is rising by the hour. Liverpool and Real Madrid will go toe-to-toe in an eagerly anticipated Champions League final at the Stade de France on 28 May and UEFA have already announced the match official for the showpiece game: Clément Turpin.
The 39-year-old Frenchman has been an international referee since 2010 and is the youngest official to have achieved that recognition from FIFA, back in 2009 when he was added to the elite list. He is also the youngest referee to have taken charge of a Coupe de France final when he oversaw Lille’s 1-0 victory over PSG in 2011.
It will be the first time that Turpin has refereed a Champions League final but he has officiated Liverpool and Real Madrid games before, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side enjoying a particularly decent record under the Frenchman’s eye.
Madrid four for four under Turpin
Turpin has taken charge of four Madrid games during his career, the most recent this season when Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the quarter-finals. Turpin’s first game involving Madrid came in 2014, a 4-0 victory against Ludogorets with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Álvaro Arbeloa and Álvaro Medrán. Bale was on target again when Madrid beat Roma 2-0 in the 2018-19 group stage with Lucas Vázquez adding the second. Madrid’s clean sweep under Turpin was completed in 2020, when Inter Milan were seen off 3-2 in the Alfredo di Stéfano. Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Rodrygo were on target for Madrid, Lautaro Martínez and Ivan Perisic replying for the visitors.
Liverpool have also had little reason to complain about Turpin’s direction: his first game in charge of Jürgen Klopp’s side was a 1-0 win against Augsburg at Anfield in the 2015-16 Europa League and he was then in the middle when Philippe Coutinho rescued a point in a 1-1 draw away at Spartak Moscow in 2017. More recently, he took charge of Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Leipzig in the Champions League last 16 last season.
Turpin oversaw last season’s Europa League final
This will be Turpin’s second major European final after he officiated Villareal’s Europa League victory over Manchester City last May. He will be assisted in Paris by his compatriots Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore on the touchlines, with Benoît Bastien the fourth official. Jérôme Brisard will be the main man in the VAR room with another Frenchman, Willy Delajod, and two Italians, Massimiliano Irrati and Filippo Meli, assisting.