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Sunday’s Carabao Cup final has a whole host of ready made narratives set to make it a hugely exciting encounter - with the EFL’s appointment of who will referee the match set to add another layer of intrigue.
Just 90 minutes stand between either Newcastle United ending a seven-decade wait for a major domestic trophy, or Liverpool retaining the crown they earned following a 1-0 win over Chelsea in last season’s final. It could all come down to a moment of magic, or madness, at Wembley and when Liverpool v Newcastle United comes around, always expect the unexpected.
EFL announce Carabao Cup final referee
Sunday’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United will be refereed by John Brooks. Brooks will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh at Wembley Stadium.
Darren England will be fourth official and tasked with keeping both benches in-line on what could be an emotionally charged afternoon in the capital. Arne Slot, after serving a two-game domestic touchline ban, will be in the Liverpool dugout.
Stuart Attwell will be on VAR duty at Stockley Park and will be assisted by Sian Massey-Ellis. VAR will be in operation in the final having been introduced to the competition at the semi-final stage with Brooks tasked with announcing any VAR decisions over the tannoy at Wembley on Sunday.
Brooks will take charge of his first ever major cup final this weekend having refereed two semi-final matches over the last two seasons. One of those matches came at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea dispatched Middlesbrough 6-1 in the second-leg of their meeting last season.
Brooks also refereed Newcastle United’s second leg win over Arsenal at St James’ Park last month, a match that saw him hand out four yellow cards with Tino Livramento, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon, who is suspended for Sunday’s final, being booked on that day. That win over the Gunners was Brooks’ third time as referee for a Carabao Cup match involving Newcastle United having overseen their 2020 penalty shootout win against Newport County and their victory over Bournemouth in the Fourth Round in December 2022 en route to the final of that year’s competition.
John Brooks’ Newcastle United v Liverpool history
Brooks has also taken charge of a match between these two teams, coming back at St James’ Park in August 2023. On that day, Brooks showed a red card to Virgil van Dijk in a match that saw Darwin Nunez steal the show with a late brace to seal all three points for Jurgen Klopp’s side - despite having to play an hour with ten men.
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Van Dijk was rightly dismissed for fouling Alexander Isak as he looked to nip through the defence and double his side’s lead after Anthony Gordon’s opener just three minutes prior. Despite the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, the Dutchman showed his fury with Brooks and was subsequently charged by the FA for ‘using abusive and/or insulting words’ towards a match official.
Van Dijk and Brooks will likely reacquaint at Wembley on Sunday as he leads the Reds out at Wembley. Bruno Guimaraes will have the honour of captaining Newcastle United.
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