{"id":58809,"date":"2026-04-29T15:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/akil-howson-set-to-become-first-black-official-at-an-fa-cup-final-as-referee-line-up-confirmed-football-news\/29\/04\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:35:49","slug":"akil-howson-set-to-become-first-black-official-at-an-fa-cup-final-as-referee-line-up-confirmed-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/sport\/akil-howson-set-to-become-first-black-official-at-an-fa-cup-final-as-referee-line-up-confirmed-football-news\/29\/04\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Akil Howson set to become first black official at an FA Cup final as referee line-up confirmed | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Akil Howson is set to become the first black official at an FA Cup final in the competition’s 154-year history.<\/p>\n

Howson will be one of referee Darren England’s assistants at Wembley next month when Chelsea take on Manchester City.<\/p>\n

In August 2023, Howson became the Premier League’s first permanent black official in 15 years, following Uriah Rennie.<\/p>\n

It is a further sign of how much more diverse the pool of officials has become across the grassroots and professional game.<\/p>\n

More than seven per cent of officials across the men’s and women’s professional games are now of black, Asian or mixed heritage – triple the percentage from back in 2022.<\/p>\n

The appointment of referee England for the showpiece encounter on May 16 is recognition of his performances this season, and marks a major career milestone after a high-profile VAR error during a Premier League game between Tottenham and Liverpool in September 2023.<\/p>\n

England mistakenly failed to overrule an on-field decision to disallow a Luis Diaz goal for offside. He did not referee a game for three months afterwards and did not return to VAR duties until April 2024.<\/p>\n

England, who was appointed as a Premier League referee in 2020, was the fourth official at last year’s FA Cup final and an assistant at the 2015 final.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Akil Howson is set to become the first black official at an FA Cup final in the competition’s 154-year history. Howson will