German referee Herbert Fandel will be in charge for Wednesday's Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool, European soccer's governing body UEFA confirmed on Monday.

The 43-year-old German had been in the running for the final with Slovakia's Lubos Michel.

Italian media have made much of the fact that Liverpool have not won with Fandel as their referee in three matches while Milan have won five matches out of five with the German in charge.

UEFA said in a statement that it will be the first time that he will handle a game in Athens, adding, "he is no stranger to the two finalists".

He handled Milan five times, dating back to a 2-0 home win in the UEFA Cup against Hapoel Tel Aviv in March 2002. He then handled three 1-0 Champions League victories - against Club Bruges in November 2003; against Shakhtar Donetsk in September 2004 and at home to Manchester United in March 2005.

This season, he was the referee of Milan's 4-1 win over Anderlecht at the San Siro -- which meant that he finally saw AC Milan concede a goal.

Conversely he has never seen Liverpool score a goal. He handled their 2-0 defeat in Valencia in September 2002; the goalless draw away to Chelsea in December 2005; and the 1-0 home defeat by Barcelona at Anfield in March.

He has officiated at 69 internationals after becoming an international referee in 1998.