Akil Howson made history as the first black FA Cup Final official

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

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

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

Tim Wood was named second assistant and Sam Barrott as fourth official.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duties will be taken by Peter Banks, assisted by Nick Hopton.

Howson, who is from the Leicestershire and Rutland Football Association, has been part of the Premier League’s Select Group 1 for the past three seasons.

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

Farai Hallam, Rubin Ricardo and Sam Allison now occupy the top two divisions of the men’s game.

Paul Howard has progressed through an advanced training program to become a regular VAR in the Premier League.

For referee England, it will be an important milestone in his rehabilitation from his mistake during Tottenham’s game against Liverpool in September 2023.

Acting as VAR, England misinterpreted the on-field decision resulting in Luis Diaz’s goal being wrongly disallowed for offside.

Sheffield and Hallamshire did not referee a Premier League game for almost three months after the officiating error, before returning to top-flight duties.

The 40-year-old, who was added to FIFA’s list of international referees in 2022, will now have the chance to take charge of the marquee game in the English football calendar.