Irish Cup Final match officials confirmed for May 7 showpiece

The match officials for this season's Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup Final have been announced.

Tony Clarke has been appointed referee for the showpiece decider between Ballymena United and Crusaders on Saturday, May 7.

A referee for the past decade, Clarke will be the man in the middle at Windsor Park.

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He will be assisted by Georgios Argyropoulos and Ken Ross, while the fourth officials will be Lee Tavinder.

The Irish FA Referees Facebook page announced the appointments on Friday night.

Irish FA Head of Refereeing Trevor Moutray said: "Nearly every referee who starts on the long road to the top of the local game, say the same thing when asked about future referee ambitions - to be involved in the Irish Cup Final.

"This year's officials are no different.

"Tony Clarke is match referee. Tony has been refereeing for 10 years, and lists this appointment as the pinnacle of his career to date.

"Georgios Argyropoulo is AR1 (assistant referee 1). As the name suggests, Georgios is from Greece and arrived in Northern Ireland a decade ago and quickly took up refereeing.

"Georgios joined the Premiership AR and FIFA panel in 2016.

"Ken Ross is AR2. Ken started off as a referee in 2009 and took up the flag at the start of the 2012/ 2013 Season. Ken notes that it is an honour and privilege to be appointed to the most prestigious game in the local footballing calendar.

"Lee Tavinder is Fourth Official. Lee started refereeing in Stoke- on- Trent in 1997 and moved to NI in 2007. Again Lee is delighted to be involved in this year's final.

"John Doherty is reserve AR. John started as a referee in 2015, and transferred to the AR role at the start of the