World Cup referee Björn Kuipers from the Netherlands will take charge of Tuesday evening's UEFA Champions League group game between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. The 44-year-old businessman from Oldenzaal previously refereed the 2012/13 semi-final first leg between the sides.

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Kuipers made his refereeing bow in the Eredivisie on 5 March 2005 when he oversaw a match between Vitesse Arnhem and Willem II Tilburg. He was made a FIFA referee in 2006 and has since overseen international games. Since January 2009, Kuipers has been an elite UEFA referee, making him a suitable candidate for the particularly big games.

At the U21 European Championships in 2009, he was in charge of the final, in which Germany beat England 4-0. Since then, he has been appointed to officiate all the major finals apart from those in the World Cup and European Championship: the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, the 2013 UEFA Europa League, the 2014 UEFA Champions League and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Kuipers studied Administrative Sciences at Radboud University in Nijmegen.

He previously refereed BVB in their UEFA Champions League 1-0 group-stage defeat to Arsenal on 6 November 2013, and in the 4-1 semi-final victory over Real Madrid on 24 April 2013.

Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra will be the linesmen, while Paulus van Boekel and Dennis Higler are the goal-line assistants. Mario Diks has been appointed as the fourth official. (br)