A REFEREE who hails from Tameside will take charge of the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium for the second time in his career.
FIFA official Chris Kavanagh will be in the middle when Sheffield United take on Sunderland for a place in next season’s Premier League.
The 39-year-old was also appointed to the 2021 play-off showpiece when Brentford beat Swansea City 2-0, but there were only 11,000 fans inside the stadium due to Covid restrictions.
Other major appointments during his career include refereeing the 2020 UEFA Youth League final and the 2024 Carabao Cup final, as well as being the Video Assistant Referee for the 2021 FA Cup final.
This season has been a busy one for Kavanagh, who has overseen 38 matches in all competitions as the referee – including most recently for Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
In those games, he has brandished 193 yellow cards, sent off eight players and awarded six penalties.
Originally from Ashton-under-Lyne, Kavanagh first took up refereeing when he was 13 and, after being promoted to the National League in 2012, quickly rose up the ranks to referee his first top-flight game in April 2017, before joining FIFA’s international list of match officials in 2019.
At Wembley Stadium, Kavanagh will be assisted by Lee Betts and Neil Davies, while Peter Bankes will be the fourth official. The reserve assistant referee is Wade Smith.
John Brooks will be the Video Assistant Referee on the day, aided by Tim Wood.
The match takes place on Saturday, May 24, with kick-off at 3pm, and will be shown live on Sky Sports. The winners will join Burnley and Leeds United in earning promotion to the top flight.