The EFL have confirmed the match officials for Arsenal’s League Cup semi-final match away to Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The EFL have confirmed that Simon Hooper will referee Arsenal’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, assisted by Adrian Holmes and Simon Long. The fourth official will be Andrew Kitchen.
Unlike in all of the previous rounds, there is VAR in use for the semi-finals, as all of the games in this round take place in Premier League stadiums where the VAR system has already been set up.
As a result, Jarred Gillett will be on VAR, with Timothy Wood assisting. With Liverpool already having been eliminated from the League Cup, perhaps this is a good time for self-confessed Liverpool fan Gillett to get an Arsenal game.
Arsenal’s record with Hooper refereeing is largely positive, with the Gunners winning 10, drawing two, and losing two of their matches with the referee in charge. Though it’s notable that both defeats were in the League Cup.
Hooper has never awarded a red card to Arsenal or their opponents, nor a penalty, so his matches involving the Gunners have largely been uncontroversial.
The only previous time he refereed a game between Chelsea and Arsenal was a 5-0 win for the Gunners in 2024.
Any fans expecting a good game can only hope Hooper does a better job at managing it than Anthony Taylor did during Arsenal’s previous trip to Stamford Bridge.