Come this Saturday! Referee Anthony Taylor will be the middleman in the Emirates FA CUP Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
This announcement has been made by the English’s Football Association on its website as it outlined the plans for Saturday’s final, which has been titled Heads Up FA Cup Final.
Taylor will be joined by assistant referees Gary Beswick (Durham FA) and Adam Nunn (Wiltshire FA), fourth official Chris Kavanagh (Manchester FA) and reserve assistant referee Lee Betts (Norfolk FA).
Stuart Attwell (Birmingham FA) will be the video assistant referee (VAR), and will be joined at Stockley Park by assistant VAR (AVAR) Steve Child (London FA).
And having previously refereed the 2017 Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea, Taylor will join a unique group of officials to have taken charge of the Final on two occasions, becoming only the eighth person to do so and the first to repeat the duty since Arthur Kingscott in 1901.
While the appointment to officiate an FA Cup Final usually happens only once in an official’s career, the FA Referees’ Committee decided that, in this unique year, it was necessary to make an exception.
“Refereeing an FA Cup Final is a dream but, unlike the players, a referee usually only does the Final once,” explained FA Referees’ Committee chairman David Elleray.
“This makes the appointment very special and a significant part of the Cup Final appointment is the opportunity to share this – the English refereeing pinnacle – with partners, family, friends and those who have been an important part of their long journey to the Final.
“Sadly, this year’s Final will be very different and will be held without all these elements in an empty stadium. With this in mind, the Committee decided it would be unfair to appoint someone who has not yet done the Final and have, instead, appointed Anthony Taylor to his second FA Cup Final.”
Altrincham-based Taylor, who is regarded as one of Europe’s and England’s top officials, will next month referee in the UEFA Champions League or Europa League with the same team of assistants, Nunn, Beswick and Attwell (VAR).
