Bjorn Kuipers has been confirmed as the referee for England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley on Sunday night.
The 48-year-old Dutchman has taken charge of three matches at this summer’s tournament, including Denmark’s 2-1 quarter-final win against the Czech Republic.
He was also the fourth official for England’s 1-0 win over Croatia in the group stages.
Kuipers, who has worked as an international referee since 2006, will be the first official from the Netherlands to take charge of a European Championship final.
However, it will be his seventh UEFA competition final. He has also refereed two Europa League finals (2013 and 2018) and the 2014 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Is Bjorn Kuipers the world’s richest referee?
But did you know that Kuipers is known as the ‘world’s richest referee’?
Worth a reported £11.5 million in 2016, per the Daily Mail, the veteran match official co-founded supermarket chain Jumbo Kuipers in his home country after earning a business administration degree from the Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Kuipers, who made his professional refereeing debut in 2002, is a franchise owner of the local Jumbo store. The supermarket chain operates across the Netherlands and Belgium.
He was even named as the best Jumbo franchisee in the Netherlands in 2016, per The Sun – an accolade that highlights his impressive business nous.
The Dutch supermarket chain that Kuipers has reportedly made millions from even sponsors Formula One star Max Verstappen.
But despite having enough money to comfortably retire, Kuipers continues to relish the opportunity to referee the biggest matches in football.
And the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy will arguably be the biggest night of his illustrious refereeing career.
Has Bjorn Kuipers refereed England before?
This isn’t the first time that Kuipers has refereed the Three Lions at a major tournament.
Indeed, this isn’t the first time that Kuipers has taken charge of an England vs Italy fixture at a major tournament.
Kuipers was the man in the middle when Italy defeated England 2-1 in Manaus at the 2014 World Cup.
He also oversaw England Under 21s’ 4-0 defeat against Germany in the 2009 U21 Euro final.
But Gareth Southgate and everyone else backing the England national team this weekend will hope Kuipers brings them more luck at Wembley.
Who are the other England vs Italy officials?
Who will Kuipers be assisted by in the Euro 2020 final?
The full refereeing team, per UEFA, is as follows…
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Assistants: Sander van Roekel, Erwin Zeinstra (both Netherlands)
Fourth official: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (Spain)
VAR Assistants: Pol van Boekel (Netherlands), Christian Gittelmann, Marco Fritz (Germany).
