FA Cup final referee announced with assistant to make history at Wembley

Darren England has been announced as the referee for the FA Cup final - taking charge of the game for the first time ever - whilst his assistant will make history at Wembley. Last weekend played host to the two semi-finals leaving Manchester City and Chelsea to fight out the final having seen off Southampton and Leeds respectively. The officials for the clash on May 16 have now been confirmed with England leading them. Tim Wood and Akil Howson will serve as his assistant referees, with the latter becoming the first black official to feature in an FA Cup final. The fourth official will be Sam Barrott. Potentially having a major role will be VAR and Peter Bankes has been handed that role with Nick Hopton his assistant. Last season a VAR decision to not send off Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson proved to be a massive call. City were beaten by the Eagles, edging them out 1-0, but Pep Guardiola was left fuming and confronted Henderson at the full-time whistle. He did not want to discuss the incident afterwards, saying only: "I'm not the referee." England has refereed losses for both Chelsea and City this term. He was the man in the middle when Guardiola's side were beaten at Brighton early in the season, but they have won two of the four games he's officiated. The Blues meanwhile had England referee their losses at Leeds and Arsenal . It was in the loss at the Gunners that England sent-off Pedro Neto - one of ten red cards received by Chelsea this season. He's brandished eight yellows to Blues' players in his four games. Guardiola has led City into a fourth successive FA Cup final. Since their victory in 2023 they've twice been beaten finalists - losing to Manchester United and Palace. Chelsea meanwhile have not claimed FA Cup glory since 2018. Their last final appearance was five years ago. Victory for the Manchester outfit could yet form part of an iconic domestic treble. They've already claimed the Carabao Cup and are looking to edge out Arsenal in the Premier League title race. Guardiola previously won the domestic treble back in 2019. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.