The Premier League have confirmed their team of match officials for Sunday’s games, including Arsenal’s trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.
The Premier League have released their list of match officials for the final round of fixtures this weekend, including Arsenal’s game away to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The match official appointments were decided after Arsenal’s title success was confirmed on Tuesday, which perhaps explains why the league have opted for a less experienced referee to take the game.
Farai Hallam will referee, assisted by Marc Perry and Mat Wilkes. Tom Nield will be the fourth official, with Nick Hopton on VAR, and Craig Taylor as the assistant VAR.
Hallam has never refereed Arsenal before, and the closest he’s come is in refereeing a couple of Arsenal u21 matches in the 2023/24 season.
More generally, 33-year-old Hallam has only refereed four Premier League games of any description in his career, all of which were in 2026.
It seems very unlikely he would have been given the Arsenal game if it had been a title decider, but with the pressure off, it’s a good one to get him some more experience.
The Premier League’s refereeing big guns have been sent to the other end of the table, with Michael Oliver refereeing Spurs-Everton, and Anthony Taylor taking West Ham-Leeds United.
It makes perfect sense that the match priorities have been reordered, as there’s now a lot more at stake at the bottom of the table.
Arsenal will just be hoping for a straightforward 90 minutes followed by their long-awaited trophy lift.
- Palace-Arsenal ref to officiate Gunners for 1st time everThe Premier League have confirmed their team of match officials for Sunday’s games, including Arsenal’s trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.
- Injured Arsenal player hoping to return vs Crystal PalaceMikel Merino is aiming to make his on-field comeback for Arsenal against Crystal Palace this Sunday, revealing that the Champions League run helped motivate his recovery.
- Crystal Palace player suffers ligament injury pre-Arsenal matchChris Richards will miss Crystal Palace’s match against Arsenal this weekend, having damaged ligaments in his ankle last Sunday.
- Crystal Palace fail with request to move Arsenal gameCrystal Palace have failed in an attempt to reschedule their match against Arsenal this weekend, with the club hoping to get more time to prepare for the Europa Conference League final.
- Manchester City confirm Pep Guardiola exit & new roleManchester City have confirmed the departure of Pep Guardiola, with the manager to leave his post at the end of the 2025/26 season.