Referees and VARs have been announced for our Emirates FA Cup fifth round ties

Wednesday 26 Feb 2020
Chris Kavanagh has been appointed to oversee Chelsea v Liverpool on Tuesday night

The referees and officials have been announced for our Emirates FA Cup fifth round ties in early March.

The last eight games are scheduled to be evening games held 'under the lights'and will kick-off on Monday 2 March with Arsenal's trip to Portsmouth, which Mike Dean will oversee live on BT Sport. 

Three games will be played the following evening, including Liverpool's trip headline trip to Stamford Bridge which will be overseen by Chris Kavanagh and live on the BBC, with West Bromwich v Newcastle United and Reading v Sheffield United the slightly later kick-offs. 

Wednesday night will also host three more ties with defending champions Manchester City in action at Sheffield Wednesday and an all-Premier League clash between Norwich and Tottenham Hotspur in north London as well as Leicester City v Birmingham City. 

And finally Craig Pawson will be the man in the middle as Derby County and Wayne Rooney prepare to face 12-time champions Manchester United to cap off the four evenings of action. 

VARs and assistant video assistant referees (AVARs) will be in place for all three ties staged at top-flight stadiums across the fourth round, and here's who is in charge of them: 

Monday 2 March 

Portsmouth v Arsenal - 7.45pm - Live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Referee: Michael Dean
Assistant Referees: Simon Bennett & Edward Smart
Fourth Official: David Coote

Tuesday 3 March

Chelsea v Liverpool - 7.45pm - Live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant Referees: Lee Betts & Sian Massey-Ellis
Fourth Official: Graham Scott
VAR: Andre Marriner
AVAR: Derek Eaton

West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United -  8pm 
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Neil Davies & Mark Scholes
Fourth Official: Robert Jones

Reading v Sheffield United - 8pm
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis & Marc Perry
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper

Wednesday 4 March

Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City - 7.45pm - Live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Adam Nunn & Stuart Burt
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes

Leicester City v Birmingham City - 7.45pm
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistant Referees: Dan Cook & Gary Beswick
Fourth Official: Darren England
VAR: Martin Atkinson
AVAR: Peter Kirkup

Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City - 7.45pm
Referee: Paul Tierney
Assistant Referees: Harry Lennard & Nick Hopton
Fourth Official: Andrew Madley
VAR: Stuart Attwell
AVAR: Simon Beck

Thursday 5 March

Derby County v Manchester United - 7.45pm - Live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistant Referees: Ian Hussin & Daniel Robathan
Fourth Official: Lee Mason

By Tom Dean