The referee for the Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City was announced on March 11
Peter Bankes previously took charge of Arsenal and Manchester City in the 2024/25 season(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Experienced Premier League referee Peter Bankes will be the man in the middle for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday as Arsenal face Manchester City. However, he wouldn’t have been allowed to take charge of the game if Liverpool were involved.
The Reds are one of two teams Bankes is barred from officiating by the league, due to his county FA being the Liverpool Football Association. This also means the 43-year-old is also forbidden from taking charge of matches involving Liverpool’s local rivals Everton.
Bankes will be supported for the final at Wembley by assistants Neil Davies and Steve Meredith, with Marc Perry named as a reserve assistant referee. Tom Bramall, who has taken charge of Arsenal and Manchester City matches in the league this season, is the fourth official.
There will be VAR in place for the final at Wembley on Sunday. John Brooks has been named as the video assistant referee, with Dan Robathan as his assistant.
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Premier League referees are required to disclose which teams they support, allowing the league to ensure they don’t take charge of that team or of any matches which can directly affect that team. Teams from their local area or assigned FA are also off the table, regardless of whether they support that team.
The latter category explains why Bankes can’t take charge of either Merseyside club. He was congratulated directly by his local FA when he got added to the Premier League’s ‘A’ List of top officials for the 2019/20 season.
Bankes has taken charge of 14 Arsenal matches over the course of his career, including the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea. The Gunners have won 10 of those games, drawing one and losing three.
Manchester City have six wins, one draw and five defeats with Bankes in the middle. One of those defeats was their 5-1 hammering at the hands of Arsenal last season.
The referee hasn’t awarded a single red card or penalty in those 14 Arsenal matches. There was only one sending-off in his 12 City matches, with John Stones dismissed when Pep Guardiola’s side beat Aston Villa all the way back in 2021.
Bankes has been the man in the middle for 22 Premier League matches in the 2025/26 season, awarding six penalties and handing out four red cards. Two of those reds came in the same match back in September, with Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez and Manchester United’s Robert Sanchez both dismissed during a match at Old Trafford.
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