The Football Association is confident that Phil Dowd’s appointment as the referee for the FA Cup final is the right choice after the controversy over Juan Mata’s goal against Tottenham.
Tottenham suffered a 5-1 defeat against Chelsea in the second semi-final of the FA Cup, though Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, would be livid at the fact that Juan Mata’s goal was awarded as replays prove inconclusive.
The controversy not only re-opened the debate on whether goal-line technology should be implemented or not but also put the spotlight on who the FA would appoint to officiate the final of the competition.
It turns out that Phil Dowd has been given the honour and the veteran referee will be hoping for the best game of his life just as much as all of the players do.
The Chairman of the FA Referee’s Committee, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-c10409 Elleray, first congratulated Dowd on his appointment. “I would like to congratulate Phil (Dowd) and the team on their appointments for this year’s FA Cup final, which is fully deserved.”
It was also announced that Andrew Garratt and Stuart Burt would be the Dowd’s assistants on the occasion and that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-c25261 Jones would be the fourth official. That just left the role of the reserve assistant referee for which the FA has appointed Simon Long.
He went on to share his confidence in Dowd’s ability to officiate such a massive occasion, “It is a huge honour to be selected as a match official for what remains the world’s most famous and best-loved cup competition and I am sure Phil and the others will
be really looking forward to both the build-up to the final and walking out onto the Wembley pitch on 5 May.”
The match is set to be another hotly contested final as both http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 and Chelsea stirred up quite a rivalry with each other in terms of cup competitions since the days of Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez.
Liverpool beat http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 earlier on in the season on their way to lifting the Carling Cup and will be hoping for a repeat of the final result while Chelsea will be looking to ensure they end the trophy with a piece of silverware.
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