UEFA Europa League final referee François Letexier is no stranger to the big occasion, with Wednesday night's Istanbul assignment the latest in his impressive career. Letexier, now 37, became the youngest-ever UEFA EURO final referee two summers ago, by which time he had already taken charge of the 2023 UEFA Super Cup and been fourth official at the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. Beşiktaş Park will stage his next test when Freiburg go head to head with Aston Villa and the Frenchman has been explaining to UEFA how he will use experiences from inside and outside the game to take it all in his stride.
- Congratulations on your appointment, François – what was your first reaction when you learned you would referee the 2026 UEFA Europa League final?
- Along with my team, we were super happy of course, and it feels like a big reward for the work we have done throughout the year. When I look back, I think we have been consistent, maintaining our level of performance, and this is always a big target for us.
- How will you prepare for the final?
- You don't want to change your preparations from a regular game too much. From a tactical point of view, I will do exactly the same. That means watching recent matches of both teams to see their tactics, watch their set pieces and understand the profiles of the players. We do this with tactical experts from UEFA, who help us identify key situations. It's also important to be adaptable to any situation and react well when something unexpected happens. This is the first of the UEFA club finals, so there is only just over a week to get ready from when I found out. With a final you have more administrative tasks which can be more demanding on your time, but generally, it's not the time to change your regular habits.
- How do you look back on refereeing the UEFA EURO 2024 final when you were just 35?
- First of all, it was really unexpected to receive that big appointment so early in my career, so it changed a lot. It was a huge experience and changed my status as a referee, mostly for the better, and it also made me develop and adapt a little bit on a personal level.
- You still work outside of football as a court bailiff – how do you combine these two very different worlds?
- I still work as a bailiff part-time, but refereeing probably takes up 75% of my time now and to be a part of big matches is an extraordinary experience. Having another profession helps to bring me a good balance to my life outside football. The day after a match, I can arrive at the office and be fully focused rather than thinking about the game from the night before. My colleagues at the court don't ask me too much about football, because I think they understand that when I'm at the office, I need something different.
- You'll also be going to the FIFA World Cup, so it's a busy summer. How do you manage to relax away from the game?
- My family is super important to me, so I spend a lot of time with them. I have two sons, aged five and one-and-a-half, and this helps me to breathe away from football. I also love practising sports – badminton, tennis, athletics, as well as football.
- Finally, when you blow the final whistle in Istanbul, what would make you feel like it was a job well done?
- For me it will be to know that we took the right decisions, which were understood and accepted by the players, and then trying to enjoy the occasion with the team.
Source: UEFA
