This coming month, the 16th of May, at the legendary Vembly Stadium there will be the final match of the FA Cup, which will host London's Chelsea and Manchester City.

This match will go down in the history of English football: 35-year-old Akil Gawson will become the first black referee in history to serve in the final of this oldest football tournament. In accordance with the equipment of the assistant of the chief judge.

Gawson, who represents Leicestershire and Rutland Football Association, has been a permanent member of Select Group 1 of the Premier League for the remaining three seasons.. This recognition will strengthen the success of the organization of Professional Match Officiating (PGMOL) in efforts to diversify the officiating corps.

These innovative referees, such as Farai Gallam, Rubin Ricardo and Sam Ellison, are now successfully officiating matches in two of the largest divisions, and Paul Howard has undergone extensive training,.

The head referee for this significant role is Darren England, who will make his debut as head referee for the FA Cup final (previously he was an assistant at the 2015 final and a fourth referee at the 2025). Tim Wood is the other assistant and Sema Barrota is the fourth referee..

Video assistant referee (VAR) duties are carried out by Peter Banks, assisted by Nick Hopkins. For the 40-year-old Darren England, who in 2022 will be included in the list of international FIFA referees, which is recognized as a great career and a kind of rehabilitation.

We guess that in the spring of 2023, around the time of the match between Tottenham and Liverpool, England, on the VAR system, made a serious mistake: through incorrect communication, the winner confirmed the scoring of a clean goal.

After that incident, England were not allowed to play in a Premier League match for almost three months. Now, after a step-by-step turn to work in a higher division, we have lost the chance to celebrate the most important match on the English football calendar.