The 2023 Vitality Women’s FA Cup will be refereed by Emily Heaslip, as Chelsea face Manchester United in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Sunday 14 May.
Suffolk-based official Emily will lead a team including assistant referees Georgia Ball and Chloe-Ann Small with Abigail Byrne as fourth official and Sophie Dennington as reserve assistant referee.
And there will also be goal line technology and a VAR in place for the first time in the Women's FA Cup, with Michael Salisbury supported by assistant Sian Massey-Ellis.
“I’m honoured to be appointed as the referee for the Vitality FA Women’s Cup Final,” admitted Emily, who officiates in the Barclays WSL as well as in the men’s National League.
“It’s a dream of not only every player to walk out at Wembley, but also every match official and we’ll be determined to repay the trust put in us by the FA and PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) to officiate at this stage of one of the biggest club competitions in football.
“It will also be a historic final as it’s the first ever women’s showpiece event in England which will incorporate the use of technology.
“It’s a day I’m really excited to be involved in, working with an excellent team of officials and aiming to deliver the best possible performance for the good of the game.”
Select Group Women’s Professional Game director Bibi SteinhausWebb added: “The FA Cup is a special competition and I’d like to offer my congratulations to those who have been appointed to officiate the Final.
“Working effectively together is one of number of elements to the officials achieving a successful performance, and we stand with them as proud members of the team behind the team.”
“As part of the continued development of our officials, we have been preparing for the introduction of technology in this season’s Vitality FA Women’s Cup Final for a sustained period of time.
“Broadening the knowledge and expertise of the officials to be ready to effectively operate VAR and goal-line technology has become a key focus of our training, coupled with the sessions officials undergo when they are away on FIFA and UEFA duty.
“Anything that can aid our match officials in their decision making has to be welcomed, especially given how the game continues to evolve and produce more complex situations which need to be judged on a match-by-match basis.”
The Final will be screened live on BBC One in the UK and will kick-off at 2.30pm BST.
Referee: Emily Heaslip (Suffolk FA)
Assistant Referees: Georgia Ball (Derbyshire FA) and Chloe-Ann Small (Hampshire FA)
Fourth official: Abigail Byrne (Cambridgeshire FA)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Sophie Dennington (Berks & Bucks FA)
VAR: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire FA)
AVAR: Sian Massey-Ellis (Birmingham FA)
