Merkel to attend Wembley final

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday confirmed she is set to attend the Champions League final on May 25 at London's Wembley stadium between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the first time two teams from Germany have contested the premier European club finale.

"Normally, the appointment dates for the Chancellor are only known on Fridays, but I think I can make an exception in this case, I think I'll be there," Merkel said at a Europa Forum in Berlin.

As an honorary member of second-division Energie Cottbus, Merkel declined to comment as to which Bundesliga team she wanted to see lift the trophy at Wembley.

"I am the German Chancellor, so I say a German team, so that I am completely on the safe side," she quipped.

A potential source of embarrassment for Merkel in the VIP area at Wembley could be the expected presence of Bayern president Uli Hoeness, who was arrested and bailed for five million euros (US$6.457m) in March as part of a tax evasion investigation.

Merkel has said she is "disappointed" in Hoeness, but Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said at the start of the month that the tax affair was no reason for the German Chancellor to stay away from the final.

"People know the Chancellor as a polite and friendly person who has met him in various environments and so it is in football stadiums," Seibert said.