© EuroFootball.com
The European Football Association (UEFA) announced that for the Euro-2004 final, which will take place on July 4th at the Da Luz Stadium in Lisbon, the referee team will be from Germany.
The referee on the field will be Markus Merk, and his assistants will be fellow countrymen Christian Schräer and Jan-Hendrik Salver. This team has already worked in this European Championship in the matches between France and England, as well as Sweden and Denmark.
"For me, this is a great personal moment and I will enjoy it because I have worked long and hard for it. Not every referee can go as far as this group of referees in Portugal. I consider it a great honor and privilege," said the German referee.
42-year-old Merk, whose true profession is a dentist, refereed the Euro-2000 semi-final between Italy and the Netherlands four years ago. Last year, Merk was appointed to officiate the UEFA Champions League final between AC Milan and Juventus.
Meanwhile, in the Euro-2004 semi-finals, the referees for the Sweden-Italy match will be Anders Frisk with assistants Kenneth Petersson and Peter Ekström, and in the Greece-Czech Republic match - Pierluigi Collina with Marco Ivaldi and Narciso Pisacreta.
