Craig Pawson to take charge of the FA Community Shield

This season’s FA Community Shield between Leicester City and Manchester United will be refereed by Craig Pawson.

The Sheffield & Hallamshire official takes charge of the season’s traditional curtain-raiser at Wembley Stadium, which sees last season’s Premier League champions take on the winners of the Emirates FA Cup.

And it’s a familiar fixture for Pawson, who took charge of the match between the two clubs at the Kingpower Stadium last term.

"I refereed Leicester City versus Manchester United last season, which was a 1-1 draw at Leicester and it was a really good game," recalled Pawson, after hearing the news of his selection for the Shield.

"Leicester had such a great season and went on to be champions, so it makes for a very exciting game against a Manchester United side with their new manager and new signings.

"So, fingers crossed, it will be a really good start to the season for us and I’m obviously really excited to be back at Wembley again.

"It’s the curtain-raiser to the new season and it’s a game that everybody watches."

The match on Sunday 7 August will be the fourth time that Pawson has refereed a game at the national stadium.

He was most recently in charge for the Emirates FA Cup semi-final between Crystal Palace and Watford in April, and is now anticipating his return to the famous venue.

"It’s a great start to the new season for me, obviously I’m really excited to be back at Wembley," added Pawson, who will be assisted by Steve Child and Lee Betts.

"It’s always nice to be at Wembley and it should be a great game to officiate between two very good teams.

"As a referee, this is my fourth game at Wembley after doing The FA Trophy, the play-offs and last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

"It’s a place you never ever get tired of going to, so I am looking forward to it."

The game also comes on the back of a trip to France for Euro 2016, as an additional assistant referee in Martin Atkinson’s team of officials.

And that was a few weeks which he admits won’t be forgotten, as part of two teams of English referees at the Finals.

"It was a great experience at the Euros, we were very fortunate to have two English teams out there and I was part of Martin’s team," he said.

"We did three games out there and they went very well, so it was a good experience and a great honour to be part of Martin’s team and to watch and learn from one of the best referees in Europe."

Speaking about Pawson’s appointment, FA Referees Committee Chairman David Elleray said: "The FA Community Shield is an important opening to every new season. 

"The team of match officials, led by Craig Pawson, who was on duty at Euro 2016 in France, has been carefully chosen by the FA Referees’ Committee and have the skills and experience to contribute too and enhance what should be a fascinating and entertaining football match."

The FA Community Shield raises hundreds of thousands of pounds every year, distributed to community-based initiatives and charities up and down the country.

The funds are raised through a combination of tickets sales and match programmes.