Referees
This will be the second time that the Uzbek referee has been tasked to oversee the finale of the Continent’s elite men’s club tournament, having taken charge of the second leg between Al Ain FC and Yokohama F. Marinos in the 2023/24 edition. It will be his eighth match assignment of this edition, having refereed one Quarter-final, one Round of 16 and five League Stage fixtures.
Tantashev’s appointment marks the eighth occasion that a referee from Uzbekistan will officiate a Final match in the modern ACL era—the most of any Member Association. The Bukhara native, 42, follows in the footsteps of Ravshan Irmatov, who helmed five matches—the most of any official—between 2007 and 2017, and Valentin Kovalenko, who was involved in the second leg of the 2019 edition.
On the FIFA list of international referees since 2013, the highly-experienced Tantashev is officiating in an 11th consecutive ACL edition. At international level, he featured in both the 2019 and 2023 AFC Asian Cups, the 2024 Olympic Games and FIFA Club World Cup 2025, while there are over 200 domestic matches under his belt since he started in 2010.
#ACLElite 2025/26 Final Match Officials
Andrey Tsapenko
Andrey Tsapenko
Zhou Fei
Zhou Fei
Ma Ning
Ma Ning
Muhammad Taqi
Muhammad Taqi
Firdavs Norsafarov
Firdavs Norsafarov
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Tantashev will be supported on the field by assistant referees (AR) Andrey Tsapenko of Uzbekistan and Zhou Fei of China PR, with Ma Ning of China PR serving as the fourth official. It is Tsapenko’s third AR assignment in an ACL Final after 2019 (second leg) and 2023/24 (second leg) and Zhou’s second after 2022 (second leg), while Ma was twice appointed as the main referee in 2018 (first leg) and 2022 (second leg).
The main Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is Muhammad Taqi, who becomes the first Singaporean to fulfil this role. The 39-year-old, who served as assistant VAR in 2022 (second leg), will be the fifth different VAR for a Final and be assisted by Uzbekistan’s Firdavs Norsafarov, 32, who is involved in a Final for the first time.
The highly-anticipated showdown will kick off at 7.15pm (GMT+3) at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
