FA Cup Final referees

List of FA Cup final referees

The FA Cup

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 2023 final 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.

The 2024 final was refereed by Andrew Madley, with Harry Lenard and Nick Hopton as assistant referees.

The 2025 final was refereed by Stuart Attwell, with Adam Nunn and Dan Robathan as assistant referees.

## Selection

[edit]

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.

## Traditions

[edit]

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.

## Fees

[edit]

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]

## Referees

[edit]

### 1872–1977

[edit]

Year  | Referee  | Assistant referees

|
|

1872 | Alfred Stair |
1873 |
1874 |
1875 | Charles Alcock |
1876 | W.S. Rawson |
1877 | Sidney Havell Wright  |
1878 | Segar Bastard |
1879 | Charles Alcock |
1880 | Francis Marindin |
1881 | William Peirce Dix |
1882 | Charles Clegg |
1883 | Francis Marindin |
1884 |
1885 |
1886 |
1887 |
1888 |
1889 |
1890 |
1891 | Charles J. Hughes |
1892 | Charles Clegg |
1893 | Charles J. Hughes |
1894 |
1895 | John Lewis |
1896 | William Simpson  |
1897 | John Lewis |
1898 |
1899 | Aaron Scragg[4] |
1900 | Arthur Kingscott |
1901 |
1902 | Tom Kirkham |
1903 | John Adams  |
1904 | A. J. Barker  |
1905 | Pat Harrower |
1906 | Fred Kirkham |
1907 | Nat Whittaker |
1908 | T. P. Campbell  |
1909 | Jim Mason |
1910 | John Ibbotson  |
1911 | John Pearson |
1912 | J. R. Schumacher  |
1913 | Arthur Adams  |
1914 | Herbert Bamlett |
1915 | Harry Taylor  |
1916–1919 | no finals  |
1920 | Jack Howcroft |
1921 | S. Davies  |
1922 | J. W. P. Fowler  |
1923 | D. H. Asson | R.A. Crump

W.A. Moody

1924 | Bill Russell  | J. Cahill

F.C. Winton

1925 | Noel Watson | A.H. Kingscott

R.T. Bradshaw

1926 | I. Baker  | W.P. (Percy) Harper

S.F. (Stanley) Rous

1927 | William Frederick Bunnell  | M. Brewitt

G.E. Watson

1928 | T. G. Bryan  | C.H. Ridgway

J.E. Sayce

1929 | Arnold Josephs  | C.E. Lines

C.F. Moon

1930 | Tom Crew  | W.E. Mycroft

L.B. Watson

1931 | Harry Kingscott | H.N. Mee

W.P. (Percy) Harper

1932 | W.P. (Percy) Harper  | A.J. Casely

W. Walden

1933 | Eddie Wood  | G.T. Gould

F. Ratcliff

1934 | Stanley Rous | G.W. Ward

F.C. Wells

1935 | Bert Fogg | L.E. Gibbs

A.H. Leppard

1936 | Harry Nattrass | J.M. (Jim) Wiltshire

Dr. A.W. Barton

1937 | Reg Rudd  | G. Dutton

E.W. Vokes

1938 | Arthur James Jewell | G.C. Denton

F.W. Wort

1939 | Tommy Thompson  | P. Snape

S.A. Donaldson

1940–1945 | no finals  |
1946 | Ernest Smith  | R.A. (Reg) Mortimer

G.V. Searle

1947 | Jim Wiltshire  | H. (Harry) Pearce

H. Bryan

1948 | C. Jack Barrick  | R.J. (Reg) Leafe

W. (Bill) Ling

1949 | Reg Mortimer  | R.L. Aldridge

V. Rae

1950 | Harry Pearce  | E.S. Vickery

F.W. Chadwick

1951 | Bill Ling | C. Fletcher

R.J. Burgess

1952 | Arthur Ellis | W.H. Evans

A.W. Smith

1953 | Sandy Griffiths | Rev. S.V. Davis

G.F.J. Sawyer

1954 | Arthur Luty  | P.F. Power

F.S. Fiander

1955 | Reg Leafe | H.J. Husband

R.L. Boscombe

1956 | Alf Bond  | N.C. Taylor

K.E. Laflin

1957 | Frank Coultas  | Ken Aston

B. Hills

1958 | Jack Sherlock  | Eric Jennings

S.A. Hibbs

1959 | Jack Clough | Major C.H. Dennis

George Readle

1960 | Kevin Howley | R.H. Windle

F. Reid

1961 | Jack Kelly  | Harry New

W.J. Downey

1962 | Jim Finney | R. Tinkler

C.A. Brownlow

1963 | Ken Aston | W.G. Handley

C.H. Pegg

1964 | Arthur Holland | S.B. Stoakes

F.J. Bricknell

1965 | Bill Clements  | Norman Burtenshaw

A.H. Goodfellow

1966 | Jack Taylor | W. Morris

E.D. Wallace

1967 | Ken Dagnall | V. James

K.A. Gale

1968 | Leo Callaghan | B.J. Homewood

W.B. Johnson

1969 | George McCabe | Ken Burns

F.C. Lane

1970 | Eric Jennings | Bob Matthewson

J.H.V. Jackson

1971 | Norman Burtenshaw | Gordon Kew

J. Bell

1972 | David H. Smith  | John Hunting

C.H. Bond

1973 | Ken Burns | A.E. Morrissey

M.J. Bayston

reserve linesman: T.G. Bune

1974 | Gordon Kew | H. Davey

D.L. Stantion

reserve linesman: R. Driver

1975 | Pat Partridge | Ron Challis

G.W. Holt

reserve linesman: C. Mallett

1976 | Clive Thomas | Alf Grey

B. Marchant

reserve linesman: A. Appleby

1977 | Bob Matthewson | Clive White

R. Rodell

reserve linesman: C.J. Riley

### 1978–2009: Fourth official era

[edit]

Year  | Referee  | Assistant referees  | Fourth official  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|

1978 | Derek Nippard | J. Bent
J. Lydon | W. Cleere |
1979 | Ron Challis | Keith Hackett
H. Dempsey | W. Harvey |
1980 | George Courtney | Alan Robinson
J. Byles | J. Cunningham |
1981 | Keith Hackett | A. Jones
D. Hutchinson | J. Penrose |
1982 | Clive White | A. Hamil
T. Mitchell | R. Guy |
1983 | Alf Grey | Colin Downey
John Pardoe | John Connock |
1984 | John Hunting | A. Saunders
N. Butler | V. Wood |
1985 | Peter Willis | Terry Holbrook
D. Keen | J. Harris |
1986 | Alan Robinson | Robbie Hart
Allan Gunn | C. Topliss |
1987 | Neil Midgley | R. Nixon
J. Hodson | D. James |
1988 | Brian Hill | Mike Pierce
G. Tyson | David Redshaw |
1989 | Joe Worrall | Mike Peck
Arthur Smith | Jeff Winter |
1990 | Allan Gunn | L. Watson
C. Reeve | Roger Milford |
1991 | Roger Milford | P. Brennan
P. Newton | Keren Barratt |
1992 | Philip Don | Rob Harris
John Hilditch | Kelvin Morton |
1993 | Keren Barratt | Roy Pearson
Brian Wigginton | Roger Dilkes |
1994 | David Elleray | Paul Rejer
Graham Barber | Gerald Ashby |
1995 | Gerald Ashby | Mark Warren
Steve Bennett | Steve Lodge |
1996 | Dermot Gallagher | Anthony Bates
Peter Walton | Paul Durkin |
1997 | Steve Lodge | David Crick
David Horlick | Peter Jones |
1998 | Paul Durkin | Bill Jordan
Phil Joslin | Graham Barber |
1999 | Peter Jones | David Babski
Philip Sharp | Mike Riley |
2000 | Graham Poll | Darren Drysdale
Graeme Atkins | Alan Wiley |
2001 | Steve Dunn | Mike Tingey
Kevin Pike | Steve Bennett |
2002 | Mike Riley | Glenn Turner
Ralph Bone | Mark Halsey |
2003 | Graham Barber | Nigel Miller
Keith Stroud | Mike Dean |
2004 | Jeff Winter | Roger East
Antony Green | Matt Messias |
2005 | Rob Styles | Jim Devine
Paul Canadine | Neale Barry | [5]
2006 | Alan Wiley[6] | Ceri Richards[7]
Darren Cann | Phil Dowd | [8]
2007 | Steve Bennett | Peter Kirkup
Dave Bryan | Howard Webb | [9]
2008 | Mike Dean | Martin Yerby
Trevor Massey | Chris Foy | [10]
2009 | Howard Webb | Dave Richardson
Mike Mullarkey | Martin Atkinson | [11]

### 2010–2017: Fourth official and reserve assistant referee era

[edit]

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]

### 2018–present: VAR and AVAR era

[edit]

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]
2024 | Andrew Madley | Harry Lennard
Nick Hopton | Simon Hooper
Tim Wood | Michael Oliver
Peter Bankes
Stuart Burt | [27]
2025 | Stuart Attwell | Adam Nunn
Dan Robathan | Darren England
Craig Taylor | Jarred Gillett
Michael Salisbury
Darren Cann | [28]

## Referees with more than one final

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Elleray, David (2004). "The Cup Final". The Man in the Middle. London: Time Warner. pp. 110–119\. ISBN 0-316-72714-8.
2. ^ Davies, Christopher (25 April 2006). "FA replace Cup final referee from the Wirral". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
3. ^ "The website for the English football association, the Emirates FA Cup and the England football team".
4. ^ "The death of Aaron Scragg". Runcorn Guardian. 18 August 1909.
5. ^ FA Cup Final 2005, report: TheFA.com website.
6. ^ Original referee Wirral-based referee Mike Dean was removed from the final after Liverpool made it through to the final. He was replaced by Premier League Select Group Referee, Alan Wiley.
7. ^ Original assistant referee Peter Kirkup woke up with a stye in his eye on the morning of the match, which affected his vision. He was replaced by Premier League Select Group Assistant Ref, Ceri Richards.
8. ^ "FA replace Cup final referee from the Wirral": Telegraph.co.uk website.
9. ^ "Bennett chosen for Final". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
10. ^ "Dean gets Final spot". TheFA.com. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
11. ^ Mawhinney, Stuart (21 April 2009). "Webb appointed for The Final". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
12. ^ "FA Cup Final for Foy". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
13. ^ "Atkinson takes Cup Final whistle". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
14. ^ "Phil Dowd to referee FA Cup final". The Daily Telegraph. London. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
15. ^ "Marriner to referee FA Cup final". ESPNFC. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
16. ^ "Man City 0 - 1 Wigan". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
17. ^ "Lee Probert to take charge of the FA Cup Final at Wembley".
18. ^ Callow, James (21 April 2015). "Jon Moss will referee the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley". The FA. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
19. ^ "Mark Clattenburg to referee the 2016 Emirates FA Cup Final".
20. ^ "Sorry. Something's wrong with the pitch. - Cheshire FA".
21. ^ "Michael Oliver on FA Cup Final appointment". The Football Association. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
22. ^ "KEVIN FRIEND WILL REFEREE 2019 EMIRATES FA CUP FINAL". The Football Association. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
23. ^ "REFEREE ANTHONY TAYLOR AND HIS TEAM WILL TAKE CHARGE OF THE HEADS UP FA CUP FINAL". The Football Association. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
24. ^ "THE LINEUP OF MATCH OFFICIALS FOR THE 2021 EMIRATES FA CUP FINAL HAS BEEN SELECTED". The Football Association. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
25. ^ "MATCH OFFICIALS CONFIRMED FOR THE EMIRATES FA CUP AND VITALITY WOMEN'S FA CUP FINALS".
26. ^ "THE TEAM OF MATCH OFFICIALS FOR THE EMIRATES FA CUP FINAL HAS BEEN CONFIRMED".
27. ^ "THE MATCH OFFICIALS TEAM TO OVERSEE THE EMIRATES FA CUP FINAL HAVE BEEN APPOINTED".
28. ^ "THE MATCH OFFICIALS FOR ALL OF OUR 2025 FA COMPETITION FINALS HAVE BEEN APPOINTED".

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