Uefa have confirmed that Lubos Michel, the Slovakian referee, will take charge of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in Moscow on Wednesday evening.

Michel, who turned 40 last week, was the referee who awarded a highly-controversial goal to Liverpool against Chelsea in the second leg of the 2005 semi-final at Anfield. Jose Mourinho, the then Chelsea manager, insisted Luis Garcia's shot didn't cross the line.

“It came from the moon, from the Anfield Road stands, from somewhere,” Mourinho said of García’s finish. Television was unable to prove whether the ball had crossed the line and so the Chelsea manager argued that the referee’s assistant could not be sure. “You could say the linesman scored,” he said.

Michel is a highly experienced referee having officiated at both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. He also refereed the 2003 Uefa Cup final where Mourinho's Porto triumphed over Celtic.

Language barriers should not be a problem either as Michel speaks English, Russian, German and Polish as well as his native tongue. He will be backed by the assistant referees who have accompanied him at his major tournaments: Roman Slysko (34) and Martin Balko (36). The fourth official will be Vladimir Hrinak (44), also of Slovakia.