According to sources, the Carabao Cup final is scheduled for Sunday 22 March at Wembley Stadium. The referee for the match will be Peter Bankes, who is supported by assistant referees Neil Davies and Steve Meredith, with Tom Bramall as fourth official, Marc Perry as reserve assistant referee, John Brooks as VAR, and Dan Robathan as AVAR. Peter Bankes is prohibited from officiating matches involving Liverpool or Everton due to his upbringing as a Merseysider and affiliation with the Liverpool Football Association.
Referees are generally required to declare which football team they support and are not allowed to officiate games involving that club or their rivals. Before kick-off, Ian Wright and the Carabao Cup final officiating team engaged in a good-natured exchange regarding positioning on the pitch. Sky Sports and ITV microphones captured calls between Ian Wright and the officiating team, with presenter Mark Chapman clarifying the situation.
What are you talking about?! We're not in your way, we're not in your way.
' Wright responded, 'What are you talking about?! ' Ian Wright is part of Sky's coverage for the Carabao Cup final and will also be on ITV due to a tie-up between the channels. Aftonbladet reports that ITV is using Sky Sports' broadcast to show the Carabao Cup final on free-to-air television, and that Sky and ITV share the rights to the Carabao Cup through the rounds and for the final.
Ian Wright, who according to Aftonbladet stepped away from Match of the Day duties two years ago to scale back his TV work, shared his thoughts on the match's importance. He stated, 'It's very natural to start to dream, but this team knows how important it is to take that last step. No one in that dressing room will be getting carried away.
We've moved on to the middle of the pitch where Ian's just having an argument with the refereeing team about whether we're in the middle of their warm-up or not.
' Wright added, 'It would be massive for the players, the fans, for momentum and the dressing room to win today. This doesn't affect the project if Arsenal lose today. ' He also expressed optimism, saying, 'I'm feeling good about today.
City's team looks very strong, but the team [Arsenal] have got is testament to the depth of the squad. ' In terms of context, Aftonbladet reports that Manchester City crashed out to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night before the final. Manchester City are nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race but have a game in hand.
Arsenal won their Champions League tie over Bayer Leverkusen to set up a quarter-final with Sporting Lisbon, and they face a quarter-final at Southampton in the FA Cup. Some are suggesting that the Carabao Cup final could act as an early title decider. Aftonbladet reports that the Carabao Cup final promises to be a classic showdown between the Premier League's top two, could shape the rest of the season for both Arsenal and Manchester City, and that winning the Carabao Cup would strike an early blow against Manchester City for Arsenal in the title race.