Kent referee Kirsty Dowle to take charge of Women's FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City at Wembley

Kent referee Kirsty Dowle went from thinking she was in trouble to taking charge of the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Dowle will be in the middle as league champions Chelsea bid to complete the double against Manchester City on Sunday.

A regular in the Women’s Super League, Dowle, who ran the line at the 2018 final, feared the worst when she had a missed call from the FA.

She needn’t have worried, though, as they were ringing with good news.

“It came as a shock, I got a phone call which I missed because I was at work,” Dowle told the FA website.

“And when I heard the voicemail of ‘it’s the FA, can you give us a call back?’ I thought I was in some sort of trouble!

“It wasn’t something I was really expecting but it’s always nice to get that kind of news.

“This is what every referee wants and it’s what you work hard for, so it’s great to have this kind of game to look forward to.”

Dowle, who started refereeing eight years ago, is on the Fifa women’s list, and also takes charge of men’s non-league games.