English official Sian Massey-Ellis enjoyed a Bank Holiday bonus on Monday.
The Coventry-based assistant referee received a call to confirm her appointment to this month’s UEFA Women’s Champions League Final.
And Massey-Ellis admits she can’t wait, with the Final seeing Wolfsburg take on Lyon in Kiev on Thursday 24 May.
“It was a nice Bank Holiday weekend to be fair,” beamed Massey-Ellis, who also received an MBE in 2017.
“I found out on Monday morning when I got a phone call from UEFA, to say I was down for the Champions League Final.
“It’s a dream come true really, a great opportunity to work with girls from different countries and I’ve worked with some of the other girls too.
“The Champions League Final is one of those things that you just think is never really going to happen for you, if that makes sense.
“I did the quarter final this season, so I really didn’t expect to get the Final and I was a little bit speechless.”
It’s the latest in a string of impressive appointments for the 32-year-old, who has also officiated in the UEFA Euro Finals and FIFA U17 and U20 World Cups in recent years.
On a domestic front, Massey-Ellis has been a regular face in the Premier League and EFL as well as the FA WSL competitions and was assistant referee for the Premier League game between Arsenal and Burnley on Sunday.
And she’s more than happy to try and inspire a new generation of female officials who are starting to emerge.
“It just shows that hard work pays off really,” she explained.
“I’ve been refereeing since I was 14 and it shows how much effort you have to put in, but it shows it can be achievable.
“We have so many female refs coming through at the moment and it just shows what you can go on to do really, so if I can act as some form of inspiration for them, then that’s great.”
The referee is Jana Adámková (Czech Republic), the second assistant referee is Sanja Rođak-Karšić (Croatia), the fourth official is Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine) and the reserve official is Maryna Striletska (Ukraine).
David Elleray, chairman of the FA Referees' Committee, added: "We're delighted that Sian has been appointed as assistant referee No.1 for the 2018 UEFA Women’s Champions League final between VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais.
"Sian has twice before been the reserve official on UEFA Women’s Champions League finals - last year and in 2013 when it was the same teams as this year.
"Sian was an assistant referee for the UEFA EURO final between Germany and Sweden in Finland in 2013 and her appointment to this year's Women’s Champions League final means she has officiated in the two most prestigious Women's finals in Europe.
"Sian's appointment is a clear and fitting recognition of her abilities as one of Europe's top match officials and it is a very positive advertisement for women’s refereeing and women’s football in this country."
