English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

, the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

, the deciding match of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

competition, is considered the highest domestic honour for

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

s to be appointed to officiate. The most recent final (

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

) was refereed by

Craig Pawson Craig Pawson (born 2 March 1979) 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. He is based in ...

, with Dan Cook and Edward Smart as assistant referees; David Coote was fourth official and Paul Tierney as video assistant referee.

Selection

By modern tradition, individuals are appointed to referee an FA Cup Final only once, a rule that has been in practice since

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

. They may have previously appeared as an

assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the La ...

. However, due to the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

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 David Roland Elleray, (born 3 September 1954), 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. During his ...

commented on his selection for the 1994 FA Cup Final: Referees and assistants are chosen by

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

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 Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

as he is from

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the Ri ...

, a peninsula situated near the city.

Alan Wiley Alan G. Wiley (born 27 May 1960) is a former English football referee in the FA Premier League, who is based in Burntwood, Staffordshire. Career Wiley first took up the whistle in 1981, then officiated in the West Midlands (Regional) League ...

took his place. 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

When the Cup Final is held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, 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. 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 Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

before travelling by limousine to Wembley. Once there they are obliged once more to autograph Cup Final programmes and are invited to join any VIPs in the banqueting hall.

Fees

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.

Referees

1872-1977

1978-2009: Fourth official era

2010-2017: Fourth official and reserve assistant referee era

2018—: VAR and AVAR era

Referees with more than one final

References

{{FA Cup Finals Association football in England lists