 Having presided over the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, Micheľ was the second man to referee the finals of both the Champions League and UEFA Cup since the latter changed to a single-legged affair in 1998; the other was Pierluigi Collina.Micheľ began refereeing in 1987 at the age of 19, and took charge of his first top-flight game in 1993.That same year, he was promoted to the FIFA list of international referees, and in November 1993, he refereed his first international match – a UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying match between San Marino and England.