Björn Kuipers crowns perfect 2012/13 campaign with Confed Cup final - Haimoudi with 3rd place match

FIFA has appointed Dutch top-class referee Björn Kuipers to take charge of Sunday night's Confederations Cup final between hosts Brazil and World Cup champions Spain at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. It will be Kuipers' fifth international final.

Do it once again: Björn Kuipers will head his team into the final (c) GETTY

The 40-year old owner of a supermarket took charge of last season's UEFA Champions League semifinal between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid as well as UEFA Europa League final between SL Benfica and FC Chelsea at Amsterdam ArenA. Following that, he was honoured as Europe's Best Referee of the past season by this blog's community.

He will be accompanied - like in Amsterdam - by his assistant referees Sander van Roekel and Erwin E. J. Zeinstra, while German Elite official Felix Brych will take the duties as fourth official.

Appointing a UEFA referee for a final involving a UEFA team and a CONMEBOL team equates a break of the unwritten confederation neutrality rule. Certainly Kuipers is a good choice for this final, having convinced in his first match between Nigeria and Uruguay as well.

Abdelhak Etchiali, Djamel Haimoudi and Redouane Achik (c) Sedziapilkarski

At the same time Algerian Djamel Haimoudi has been nominated to handle the match for the third place between Uruguay and Italy in Salvador. Redouane Achik of Morocco and Abdelhak Etchiali from Algeria will assist him in this match. Japanese World Cup referee Yuichi Nishimura has been assigned as fourth official. Haimoudi and his team basically showed a satisfying performance in the group stage match between Spain and Tahiti.

Third Place

30 June 2013
Match 15 – Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador (BRA) – 18:00 CET
URUGUAY		-:-		ITALY
Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (ALG) Assistant Referee 1: Redouane Achik (MAR) Assistant Referee 2: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG) Fourth Official: Yuichi Nishimura (JPN) Reserve Assistant Referee: Toru Sagara (JPN)					Blog Observer: Philipp S. (GER)

Final

1 July 2013
Match 16 – Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (BRA) – 00:00 CET
BRAZIL		-:-		SPAIN
Referee: Björn Kuipers (NED) Assistant Referee 1: Sander van Roekel (NED) Assistant Referee 2: Erwin E. J. Zeinstra (NED) Fourth Official: Felix Brych (GER) Reserve Assistant Referee: Mark Borsch (GER) Match Commissioner: Eric Labrador (PUR)					Blog Observer: Chefren (ITA)