Chelsea face Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final later this month and the referee for the huge match has been confirmed
UEFA have confirmed who will officiate the Conference League final between Chelsea and Real Betis later this month.
The Blues will face the La Liga side at Stadion Wroclaw in Wroclaw, Poland on Wednesday, May 28. Enzo Maresca’s side are heavy favourites to win the competition after progressing past Djurgarden in the semi-final.
Real Betis, though, are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions and will provide a tough test for the west Londoners. Betis overcame Fiorentina in the semi-final, beating the Italian side 4-3 over two legs.
Ahead of the match later this month, UEFA have confirmed that Irfan Peljto of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the man in the middle for the cup final. Peljto will be assisted by countrymen Senad Ibrišimbegović and Davor Beljo.
In a statement, UEFA said: “The UEFA Referees Committee has revealed that Irfan Peljto of Bosnia-Herzegovina will referee the 2025 UEFA Conference League final between Chelsea FC and Real Betis Balompié at Stadion Wrocław in Wrocław, Poland, on Wednesday 28 May 2025 at 21:00 CEST.
“The 40-year-old has been an international referee since 2015 and will be taking charge of his first UEFA club competition final. This season he has officiated seven UEFA Champions League matches – including the quarter-final first leg between Arsenal FC and Real Madrid C.F. – and four UEFA Europa League matches.”
The fourth official for the clash will be Turkey’s Halil Umut Meler, while Jérôme Brisard of France will be on VAR duties.
Maresca has previously signalled his intent on winning the Conference League, which would be his first trophy with the Blues since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino last summer. “For me, winning a trophy this season – and the Conference League trophy – is a statement that you can say: Chelsea is back,” said Maresca.
“From there, it’s a good starting point to building the winning mentality and winning trophies.” When asked about the impact of winning a European trophy as a player, Maresca added: “It’s important because it shapes yourself, all the experiences do.
“The best experience in terms of winning mentality has been with Juventus, because it’s a club where you realise that even in the training sessions, you want to win the small-sided games. So it’s a winning mentality in all the competitions.
“It’s nice to win trophies, because you learn how to win. Chelsea is a big club with many important trophies in the past but we need to learn how to win with this squad, one that is different from the squad that won important trophies in the past here with Chelsea.
“I try to convince the players that day by day, you have to build the winning mentality. You have to win the small-sided games. The competition we are in this moment is the Conference League, then we have to win this competition. In the future, we can be in other competitions but at the moment, this is the reality.”
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