Play-off referees, away goals and sub rules confirmed for Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United

Premier League referees will take charge of the four Championship play-off semi-finals that will determine which two sides earn a trip to Wembley and a winner-take-all shot at promotion to the top flight.

Robert Jones will officiate Huddersfield Town’s trip to Luton Town on Friday evening. The Merseyside-based referee has taken charge of three previous Terriers games this season: the 2-0 home win over Hull in October, the 3-4 win away to Reading in January, and the goalless draw away to Preston the following month. This is the first time this season he has taken charge of a Luton game.

The second leg at the John Smith’s Stadium will be refereed by Peter Bankes, who conversely has not done a Huddersfield game this season but was chosen for Luton’s 0-3 win at Blackpool and their 2-3 FA Cup defeat at home to Chelsea. The last time he officiated Carlos Corberan’s side was in their 0-1 home defeat to Millwall in January 2021.

Sheffield United’s home tie against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon will be overseen by Andre Marriner, who has not been in charge of a game featuring either side this season. He last refereed the Blades in their 4-0 defeat away to Tottenham in May last year.

Michael Oliver will then be the referee at the City Ground on Tuesday evening, and he will likewise be taking charge of his first game of the campaign for either side. His last Sheffield United game was the 2-3 home defeat against Manchester United in December 2020.

As first reported by on Wednesday, VAR will not be used for the semi-finals. A decision about whether it will be used in the final at Wembley on Sunday 29th May is yet to be confirmed.

The away goals rule is in effect for the play-off semi-finals, meaning that if the scores