Terje Hauge will become the first Norwegian to referee a UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday following his appointment for the Paris showpiece between FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC. The 40-year-old will be assisted by countrymen Steinar Holvik and Ole Hermann Borgan, with Tom Henning Øvrebø acting as fourth official.

Rapid rise
Born in Bergen on 5 October 1965, Hauge began his refereeing career as a teenager in 1982, was taking charge of Norwegian top-flight matches by 1990, and joined the FIFA international list in 1993. A health official by profession, he has also been working as a referee consultant in his local football association in Bergen, giving advice and helping the development of match officials of all standards.

UEFA events
His rise began with the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in Spain in 1994, and was followed in 1997 by the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup in Portugal and the FIFA World Youth Championship. A fourth official at UEFA EURO 2000™, he was on board for the finals in Portugal four years later having also travelled to the Far East for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. A regular in UEFA club competition since 2001, he also had the honour of taking charge of the 2004 UEFA Super Cup between FC Porto and Valencia CF.

Top appointments
Hauge got this campaign going by overseeing two FIFA World Cup qualifiers and Udinese Calcio’s 3-2 defeat of Sporting Clube de Portugal in UEFA Champions League qualifying. He also took charge of three group-stage matches before being appointed for FC Barcelona's 2-1 win at Chelsea FC in the first knockout round and then AC Milan’s 3-1 home success against Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals.

Shining light
At home, Hauge has been regarded as one of his nation’s shining lights since the Norwegian FA Cup final between FK Bodø/Glimt and Tromsø IL in October 1996. Seven years later, he assumed control of his second domestic cup final between Bodø/Glimt and Rosenborg BK before being asked to be the man in the middle for the Ukrainian Cup final in May 2005. He was also awarded the FIFA World Youth Championship final in the Netherlands last year, when Argentina overcame Nigeria 2-1.

Previous encounters
His first encounter with an English club did not come until September 2000, when he refereed Manchester United FC's 5-1 UEFA Champions League victory over RSC Anderlecht at Old Trafford. However, his direct contact with Arsenal FC is limited to a 2-0 defeat by RC Deportivo La Coruña in Spain on 21 November 2001. Hauge's meetings with Barcelona have been more frequent - the final will be his seventh, with Barça winning four and losing one of the previous six.