Thomson to ref Scottish Cup final

adamhigginsuk
May 1, 2014
2 min read

Referee Craig Thomson will oversee his third Scottish Cup final when St Johnstone meet Dundee United at Celtic Park next month.

Man in the middle: Thomson will oversee his third Scottish Cup final when St Johnstone and Dundee United take to the field in the all-Premiership clash at Celtic Park (Picture by SNS Group)

CRAIG Thomson will take charge of the 2014 Scottish Cup Final between Dundee United and St Johnstone at Celtic Park later this month.

The 41-year-old will oversee his third showpiece in the competition on Saturday, 17 May having also handled three League Cup finals.

Graham Chambers and Michael Banks will be the assistant referees while Stephen Finnie is the fourth official.

Kevin Clancy and Alan Muir have been appointed as additional assistant referees.

Thomson was in the middle for Rangers' 1-0 win over Falkirk in 2009 and a 5-1 victory for Hearts over Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in 2012, both at Hampden Park.

The leading Scottish referee, one of 12 officials at the European Championships in 2012, missed out on the list for this summer’s World Cup finals.

Including 24 Premiership games, Thomson has officiated 41 matches in all competitions this season, brandishing 146 yellow cards, four red cards and awarding seven penalties.

The Renfrewshire-based whistler has already handled both sides during their cup run - Dundee United’s fifth round win over St Mirren and St Johnstone’s quarter-final victory over Raith Rovers.

It will be the second time additional assistants will be used in the final after a successful trial last season during Celtic’s triumph over Hibernian, with Willie Collum the man in the middle.

Celtic Park, which hosted the League Cup final, is also staging the Scottish Cup final as Hampden prepares for this summer’s Commonwealth Games with 26,000 tickets already sold.

The Saints will be playing in the first major final of their 130-year history after coming from behind to beat League Cup winners Aberdeen in the semi-finals.

2010 winners United are seeking a third Scottish Cup triumph following their 3-1 win over League One champions Rangers at Ibrox last month.

The Tayside derby will kick-off at 15:00 BST, with live coverage on Sky Sports and BBC Scotland.

THOMSON'S FINALS:

2009 Scottish Cup Final: Rangers 1-0 Falkirk 2010 Scottish League Cup Final: Rangers 1-0 St Mirren 2011 Scottish League Cup Final: Celtic 1-2 Rangers (AET) 2012 Scottish Cup Final: Hibernian 1-5 Hearts 2013 Scottish League Cup Final: St Mirren 3-2 Hearts 2014 Scottish Cup Final: Dundee United X-X St Johnstone