The Football Association has announced that experienced Premier League referee Paul Tierney will take charge of next month's FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City at Wembley.
United and City booked their places in the showpiece event last month with semi-final victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United, respectively. The Reds defeated the Seagulls on penalties after a goalless draw while City beat the recently-promoted Blades 3-0, thanks to a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick.
It means that the two clubs will contest the first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, June 3. United will be hoping to land their second trophy of the season while City could be in a situation aiming to keep their treble hopes alive.
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Tierney, who is from Wigan, is an experienced whistle-blower and has previously been involved in officiating an FA Cup final from when he was an assistant referee for the 2010 final between Chelsea and Portsmouth. He has also refereed finals at Wembley in the past, taking charge of the 2019 Championship play-off final and the 2021 League Cup final.
On being awarded the honour of referring the very first all-Manchester FA Cup final, Tierney said: "Obviously, I was really pleased to get the call on Monday morning, so it was a good start to the week as I was on my way to a training camp at St. George's Park.
"To referee the FA Cup Final is one of those things that you strive to do and it's always been one of my targets but it still takes a bit of time to sink in.
"It's a real honour for me and the rest of the team, and we're all thrilled to have been appointed for this game. It's a great fixture to be refereeing too and although there is the common assumption that because I'm from Wigan I must support one of them, I was actually born in Belfast and only moved to Wigan when I was eleven and it's actually going to be the first time that I've refereed a Manchester derby so I'm looking forward to it.
"The first time I was involved at Wembley was as an assistant referee for the 2009 FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Chelsea and it's just the best place to be involved in a football game. I've since been fortunate to referee there and be involved in more games and it's something that always sticks with you.
"Obviously, this game is going to top the lot on a personal level, so I'm looking forward to it and hopefully the final will be a great game."
Tierney will be assisted by Neil Davies and Scott Ledger while Peter Bankes will act as the fourth official. David Coote will oversee VAR duties.
Full officiating appointments for the FA Cup final:
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire FA)
Assistant Referees: Neil Davies (London FA) and Scott Ledger (Sheffield & Hallamshire FA)
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes (Liverpool FA)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Adrian Holmes (West Riding FA)
Video Assistant Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire FA)
Assistant VAR: Simon Long (Cornwall FA)
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