Anthony Taylor set for Wenger reunion as he is named as referee for FA Cup final

26 April 2017 16:24

Anthony Taylor, the match official Arsene Wenger pushed and called "dishonest" in January, has been named as referee for the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea on May 27.

Premier League leaders Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in last Saturday's FA Cup semi-final and Wenger's Arsenal defeated Manchester City 2-1 after extra time a day later.

The London rivals will contest the showpiece final at Wembley six days after the Premier League season concludes.

And Wenger has history with Taylor, whose appointment as referee was announced by the Football Association on Wednesday.

The Frenchman received a £25,000 fine and four-match touchline ban for pushing Taylor during Arsenal's January 22 league win over Burnley. Taylor was the fourth official at the Emirates Stadium that day.

Wenger admitted both charges, with referee Jon Moss saying Wenger accused Taylor of being "dishonest to (his) federation" before using foul language in direction of the fourth official.

Moss sent Wenger from the touchline after Burnley equalised with a penalty and the Frenchman initially stood in the mouth of the tunnel.

It was after being asked to leave that area that he pushed Taylor twice, the FA's written reasons for the punishment state.

Alexis Sanchez scored a winner from the spot in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Following the match, Wenger said: "I regret everything. I should have shut up, gone in and gone home. I apologise for that."

One of the matches for which Wenger was banned was the February 4 match at Chelsea, which Arsenal lost 3-1.

The Gunners beat Chelsea 3-0 in the reverse fixture last September.

Cheshire-based official Taylor will take charge of the FA Cup final for the first time.

He will be joined at Wembley by assistant referees Gary Beswick and Marc Perry, with Bobby Madley named fourth official.

The 38-year-old Taylor said on thefa.com: "It's been a long-standing dream of mine in the 20-odd years that I've been a referee to one day officiate the FA Cup final, it's the pinnacle of your domestic career.

"Refereeing a match at Wembley is a fantastic experience, any game that you do there, but the cup final is iconic and especially with it being a London derby as well, that adds an extra dimension to the occasion."

The FA on Tuesday announced the clubs will receive a ticket allocation of approximately 28,000 each for the final, which kicks-off at 1730BST.

Source: PA