In English football, the FA Cup Final, the deciding match of the FA Cup competition, is considered the highest domestic honour for referees to be appointed to officiate.
The most recent final (2023) was refereed by Paul Tierney, with Neil Davies and Scott Ledger as assistant referees. Peter Bankes was fourth official and David Coote served as the video assistant referee.
By modern tradition, individuals are appointed to referee an FA Cup Final only once, a rule that has been in practice since 1902. They may have previously appeared as an assistant referee or fourth official.
However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the tradition was broken when Anthony Taylor became the first referee for over a century to officiate a second cup final. This was decided to allow a referee who would be officiating in a maiden final to experience the occasion as intended, with friends and family present and a stadium full of fans. In 2021, with the same crowd restrictions in place, Michael Oliver also refereed a second final.
David Elleray commented on his selection for the 1994 FA Cup Final: [1]
Whatever else anyone might claim, it is the biggest match of your career as you only referee the final once, you are desperate not to make a mess of it. People are often surprised to learn that you can only do it once but I thoroughly approve of the principle. It is such a special occasion that [...] it would never be as good the second time round. I strongly believe that no one should have all the big games and those who have shown themselves capable of refereeing at the highest level should receive the highest accolade of doing the Cup Final.
Referees and assistants are chosen by the Football Association for their impartiality and their assessed performance scores for previous seasons. Only one referee has ever been replaced under the impartiality rule; Mike Dean agreed to pull out following questions in the media about him being able to referee a Cup Final involving Liverpool as he is from the Wirral, a peninsula situated near the city. Alan Wiley took his place. [2]
Officials are informed of the appointment by the FA Referees' Secretary and sworn to secrecy until a public announcement can be made, usually the following day. There then follows a period of media attention resulting in interviews and features appearing in the national press.
When the Cup Final is held at Wembley Stadium, traditions include the "Eve of the Final" rally at a central London location, where the match officials are guests of honour at a meal provided for by the Referees' Association. [1] Many members of the Association including serving and past Cup Final referees also attend.
Speeches are made and the officials are presented with mementos of the occasion and invited to autograph their refereeing colleagues' Cup Final programmes. The referees usually sleep at White's Hotel, with FA protocol stating that they should not leave the grounds.
On the morning of the Cup Final, the officials take a pre-match walk through Hyde Park before travelling by limousine to Wembley. [1] Once there they are obliged once more to autograph Cup Final programmes and are invited to join any VIPs in the banqueting hall.
For the 2013-14 season the officials' fees for the Cup Final were: referee and assistant referees £375 each; fourth official £320 and a souvenir medal each, plus travelling expenses. [3]
Year | Referee | Assistant referees | Fourth official/ Reserve assistant referee | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Chris Foy | John Flynn Shaun Procter-Green | Andre Marriner Stuart Burt | [12] |
2011 | Martin Atkinson | Adam Watts Simon Beck | Lee Probert Jake Collin | [13] |
2012 | Phil Dowd | Stuart Burt Andrew Garratt | Mike Jones Simon Long | [14] |
2013 | Andre Marriner | Stephen Child Simon Long | Anthony Taylor Gary Beswick | [15] [16] |
2014 | Lee Probert | Jake Collin Mick McDonough | Kevin Friend Simon Bennett | [17] |
2015 | Jonathan Moss | Darren England Simon Bennett | Craig Pawson Harry Lennard | [18] |
2016 | Mark Clattenburg | John Brooks Andrew Halliday | Neil Swarbrick Michael Salisbury | [19] |
2017 | Anthony Taylor | Gary Beswick Marc Perry | Bobby Madley Adam Nunn | [20] |
Year | Referee | Assistant referees | Fourth official/ Reserve assistant referee | VAR/ AVAR | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Michael Oliver | Ian Hussin Lee Betts | Lee Mason Constantine Hatzidakis | Neil Swarbrick Mick McDonough | [21] |
2019 | Kevin Friend | Constantine Hatzidakis Matthew Wilkes | Graham Scott Edward Smart | Andre Marriner Harry Lennard | [22] |
2020 | Anthony Taylor | Gary Beswick Adam Nunn | Chris Kavanagh Lee Betts | Stuart Attwell Stephen Child | [23] |
2021 | Michael Oliver | Stuart Burt Simon Bennett | Stuart Attwell Dan Cook | Chris Kavanagh Sian Massey-Ellis | [24] |
2022 | Craig Pawson | Dan Cook Edward Smart | David Coote Dan Robathan | Paul Tierney Simon Bennett | [25] |
2023 | Paul Tierney | Neil Davies Scott Ledger | Peter Bankes Adrian Holmes | David Coote Simon Long | [26] |
Referee | Number of finals | Years |
---|---|---|
Francis Marindin | 9 | 1880, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890 |
Alfred Stair | 3 | 1872, 1873, 1874 |
Charles J. Hughes | 3 | 1891, 1893, 1894 |
John Lewis | 3 | 1895, 1897, 1898 |
Charles Alcock | 2 | 1875, 1879 |
Charles Clegg | 2 | 1882, 1892 |
Arthur Kingscott | 2 | 1900, 1901 |
Anthony Taylor | 2 | 2017, 2020 |
Michael Oliver | 2 | 2018, 2021 |
Mark Clattenburg is an English professional football referee.
David Roland Elleray,, is an English former football referee who officiated in the Football League, Premier League and for FIFA. As of September 2021 he held the position of Technical Director at the IFAB.
Alan G. Wiley is a former English football referee in the FA Premier League, who is based in Burntwood, Staffordshire.
Philip Dowd is a retired English professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and was a member of the Staffordshire Football Association.
Mike Dean is a former English professional football referee and currently a video assistant referee (VAR) primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Heswall, Wirral, in North West England, and is a member of the Cheshire County Football Association.
Martin Atkinson is an English referee coach and retired professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League. He is a member of the West Riding County Football Association.
Darren Drysdale is an English football referee who officiates in the Football League, and is a sergeant in the RAF at Waddington.
Peter Jones ) is a former English football referee, who retired from officiating at the end of the 2001–02 season. He lives in Quorn, near Loughborough, Leicestershire, and works as a referee assessor.
Christopher Foy is an English retired professional football referee. Following his first appointment as an official in the Football League in 1994 and his promotion in 2001 to the list of Select Group Referees who officiate in the Premier League, Foy refereed a number of notable matches, including the FA Community Shield and the finals of the FA Cup, Football League Cup and FA Trophy.
Lee William Probert is a former English professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League. He was born in Aylesbury but is now based in Dubai and is the Referees Director for the UAE Football Association.
Anthony Taylor is an English professional football referee from Wythenshawe, Manchester. In 2010, he was promoted to the list of Select Group Referees who officiate primarily in the Premier League, and in 2013 became a listed referee for FIFA allowing him to referee European and international matches. In 2015, he officiated the Football League Cup final at Wembley Stadium when Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0. Taylor returned to Wembley later that year to officiate the Community Shield as Arsenal beat Chelsea 1–0. He refereed the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals, both between Chelsea and Arsenal; Arsenal won on both occasions 2–1. Upon the selection, he became the first man to referee a second FA Cup final since Arthur Kingscott in 1901.
Philip J. Joslin is an English association football referee who operates in the Football League. In addition, he has previously held the position of assistant referee for both the Premier League and FIFA, and also fulfilled that role in the 1998 FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Kevin Friend is a former professional football referee based in Leicester. He is a member of the Leicestershire and Rutland County Football Association.
Michael Oliver is an English professional football referee from Ashington, Northumberland. His county FA is the Northumberland Football Association. He belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and officiates primarily in the Premier League. He received his FIFA badge in 2012, allowing him to officiate in major international matches. Oliver was appointed to take charge of the final of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Oliver was promoted to the UEFA Elite Group of Referees in 2018.
Jonathan Moss is an English former football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League having been promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2011. He is currently the Select Group 1 Manager at the PGMOL
Craig Pawson is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League, having been promoted to the panel of Select Group Referees in 2013, as well as in the Football League.
Paul Tierney is a football referee from Wigan, Greater Manchester, who referees in the English Premier League. He first officiated in the Premier League on 30 August 2014. Tierney was promoted to the FIFA list of referees in 2018, but was removed again in 2022. He is registered with the Lancashire Football Association.
The following is a list of match officials who officiated at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The 2020 FA Cup final, known officially as the Heads Up FA Cup final, was an association football match played behind closed doors between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London, England on 1 August 2020; it was originally scheduled for 23 May, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the 139th FA Cup Final.
The 2021 FA Cup final was an association football match played between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 15 May 2021. Organised by the Football Association (FA), it was the 140th final of the Football Association Challenge Cup and the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition. The match was among the first football events where the return of large crowds was piloted after the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with an official attendance of 20,000 after the previous year's final was held behind closed doors. The match was televised live in the United Kingdom on free-to-air channel BBC One and on pay TV channel BT Sport 1. In the UK, live radio coverage was provided by BBC Radio 5 Live, Talksport and local stations BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Leicester. The match was watched by more than 9 million people in the United Kingdom.