FA Cup Final referees
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 most recent final was refereed by Kevin Friend, with Constantine Hatzidakis and Matthew Wilkes as assistant referees; Graham Scott was fourth official and Edward Smart the reserve assistant referee.
Selection
Individuals may be appointed to referee an FA Cup Final only once, a rule that's been in practice since 1902, but they are allowed to have previously appeared as an assistant referee or fourth official.Due to the Coronavirus crisis in 2020, Anthony Taylor will become 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, allowing friends and family to attend, along with the stadium full of fans present.
David Elleray commented on his selection for the 1994 FA 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.
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, 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 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 £375; assistant referees £375 each; fourth official £320 and a souvenir medal each, plus travelling expenses.Referees
Prior to 1915
| Year | Referee |
| 1872 | Alfred Stair |
| 1873 | Alfred Stair |
| 1874 | Alfred Stair |
| 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 | Francis Marindin |
| 1885 | Francis Marindin |
| 1886 | Francis Marindin |
| 1887 | Francis Marindin |
| 1888 | Francis Marindin |
| 1889 | Francis Marindin |
| 1890 | Francis Marindin |
| 1891 | Charles J. Hughes |
| 1892 | Charles Clegg |
| 1893 | Charles J. Hughes |
| 1894 | Charles J. Hughes |
| 1895 | John Lewis |
| 1896 | William Simpson |
| 1897 | John Lewis |
| 1898 | John Lewis |
| 1899 | Arthur Scragg |
| 1900 | Arthur Kingscott |
| 1901 | Arthur Kingscott |
| 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 |
- Note - Arthur Kingscott was the last referee to referee more than one final; his son, Harry Kingscott, refereed the 1931 final.
1920 to 1939
| Year | Referee |
| 1920 | Jack Howcroft |
| 1921 | S. Davies |
| 1922 | J. W. P. Fowler |
| 1923 | D. H. Asson |
| 1924 | Bill Russell |
| 1925 | Noel Watson |
| 1926 | I. Baker |
| 1927 | William Frederick Bunnell |
| 1928 | T. G. Bryan |
| 1929 | Arnold Josephs |
| 1930 | Tom Crew |
| 1931 | Harry Kingscott |
| 1932 | Percy Harper |
| 1933 | Eddie Wood |
| 1934 | Stanley Rous |
| 1935 | Bert Fogg |
| 1936 | Harry Nattrass |
| 1937 | Reg Rudd |
| 1938 | Arthur James Jewell |
| 1939 | Tommy Thompson |
Post-World War II
| Year | Referee |
| 1946 | Ernest Smith |
| 1947 | Jim Wiltshire |
| 1948 | C. Jack Barrick |
| 1949 | Reg Mortimer |
| 1950 | Harry Pearce |
| 1951 | Bill Ling |
| 1952 | Arthur Ellis |
| 1953 | Sandy Griffiths |
| 1954 | Arthur Luty |
| 1955 | Reg Leafe |
| 1956 | Alf Bond |
| 1957 | Frank Coultas |
| 1958 | Jack Sherlock |
| 1959 | Jack Clough |
| 1960 | Kevin Howley |
| 1961 | Jack Kelly |
| 1962 | Jim Finney |
| 1963 | Ken Aston |
| 1964 | Arthur Holland |
| 1965 | Bill Clements |
| 1966 | Jack Taylor |
| 1967 | Ken Dagnall |
| 1968 | Leo Callaghan |
| 1969 | George McCabe |
| 1970 | Eric Jennings |
| 1971 | Norman Burtenshaw |
| 1972 | David Smith |
| 1973 | Ken Burns |
| 1974 | Gordon Kew |
| 1975 | Pat Partridge |
| 1976 | Clive Thomas |
| 1977 | Bob Matthewson |
| Year | Referee | Assistant referees | Fourth official |
| 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 |