FA Cup final: Michael Oliver to take charge

Referee Michael Oliver will be at the centre when Manchester United face Chelsea in the FA cup final at Wembley, May 19.

It will be Oliver’s first cup match after his controversial handling of the Champions league quarter-final second leg tie between Real Madrid adn Juventus which saw Cristiano Ronaldo converting a penalty adjudged to have been wrongly awarded.

The Wembley final will see Oliver officiate his first cup match since the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Real Madrid and Juventus, which ended in controversy.

Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, who was sent off by Oliver for his protests after the awarding of the penalty, claimed the English official has as “bag of rubbish for a heart” in his furious post-match comments.

UEFA gave their backing to Oliver, who returned to domestic action earlier this month – refereeing Huddersfield’s 1-0 win over Watford as well as West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Stoke.

The FA confirmed on Tuesday that Oliver has been appointed as referee next month’s final, and that he will be assisted by linesmen Lee Betts and Ian Hussin and fourth official Lee Mason.

“I was very proud and humbled to receive the phone call. When you start out, taking charge of the (FA) Cup final is not something you even think about,” Oliver said on the FA’s website.

“As your career progresses it becomes a realistic target, but it’s not a call you ever expect to take, but it is a great one. This opportunity only comes around once in a referee’s career.”

Chelsea will be housed in the England dressing room for the final, while Manchester United will be in the traditional away dressing room.Meanwhile, both clubs will have over 28,500 tickets for the final, with the FA insisting 80 per cent of the seats at Wembley will go to supporters of the two competing sides.

The remaining 20 per cent of tickets will go to members of the ‘FA family’, which includes volunteers from County FAs and other members of football’s grassroots.