Akil Howson to make history as first black FA Cup final official

Akil Howson will become the first black official to feature in an FA Cup final when Chelsea take on Manchester City next month.

The 35-year-old has been named as an assistant referee for the game at Wembley on 16 May.

Darren England will referee the showpiece event for the first time, having previously being the fourth official at the 2025 final and an assistant referee at the 2015 final.

Tim Wood is the second assistant and Sam Barrott has been chosen as the fourth official.

Video assistant referee (VAR) duties will be taken on by Peter Bankes, assisted by Nick Hopton.

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.

Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) are making efforts to diversify the refereeing pathway.

Farai Hallam, Ruebyn Ricardo and Sam Allison now officiate in the top two divisions of the men’s game.

Paul Howard has progressed through an enhanced training programme to operate regularly as a VAR in the Premier League.

For referee England, this will be a significant milestone on his rehabilitation from his mistake during Tottenham’s game against Liverpool in September 2023.

Acting as the VAR, England incorrectly interpreted the on-field decision which led to a Luis Diaz goal incorrectly being disallowed for offside.

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.

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.