\n<\/p>\n
Akil Howson will become the first black official to feature in an FA Cup final when Chelsea take on Manchester City next month.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 35-year-old has been named as an assistant referee for the game at Wembley on 16 May. <\/p>\n
Darren England will referee the showpiece event for the first time, having previously been the fourth official at the 2025 final and an assistant referee at the 2015 final.<\/p>\n
Tim Wood is the second assistant and Sam Barrott has been chosen as the fourth official.<\/p>\n
Video assistant referee (VAR) duties will be taken on by Peter Bankes, assisted by Nick Hopton. <\/p>\n
Howson, who is from the Leicestershire & Rutland Football Association, has been part of the Premier League’s Select Group 1 for the last three seasons.<\/p>\n
Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) are making efforts to diversify the refereeing pathway.<\/p>\n
Farai Hallam, Ruebyn Ricardo and Sam Allison now officiate in the top two divisions of the men’s game. <\/p>\n
Paul Howard has progressed through an enhanced training programme to operate regularly as a VAR in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
For referee England, this will be a significant milestone on his rehabilitation from his mistake during Tottenham’s game against Liverpool in September 2023.<\/p>\n
Acting as the VAR, England incorrectly interpreted the on-field decision which led to a Luis Diaz goal incorrectly being disallowed for offside. <\/p>\n
The Sheffield & Hallamshire official did not referee a Premier League game for almost three months after the error, before being eased back into top-flight duty.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old, who was added to Fifa’s list of international referees in 2022, will now get the chance to take charge of the marquee game on the English football calendar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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