Jarred Gillett - a man banned from Liverpool matches - has been selected to referee the 2024 Community Shield between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday.
The Football Association were forced to replace John Brooks after the referee - initially chosen for the clash - sustained an injury.
Gillett was originally appointed as the match’s fourth official, but he will step in for Brooks with Sam Barrott taking up this role instead. Adrian Holmes and Nick Greenhalgh will be the assistant referees.
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Peter Bankes is the video assistant referee while the VAR team also sees Sian Massey-Ellis as assistant VAR and Tim Robinson as support VAR.
The traditional curtain-raiser for the new season sees the winners of the FA Cup, Manchester United, take on the Premier League champions, local rivals Manchester City, at Wembley on August 10.
Australian official Gillett has actually been banned from officiating Liverpool games.
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The 37-year-old, who worked as a respected referee in the A-League for nine years before making the move to England in 2019, was reportedly required to sign a document confirming the team he supported before his appointment was announced.
The Australian referee made it clear he was a Liverpool fan and the only time he has been allowed onto the Anfield pitch in a professional capacity during a game arrived when a Liverpool Legends side defeated an AC Milan Legends outfit 3-2 in 2019.
That was the last time he was allowed to be part of a Liverpool match, and he has officiated in the Premier League on 37 occasions in 2023-34 without once refereeing a game involving his beloved Reds.
Five years have passed since his Premier League arrival and, while Gillett has been a regular official in the English top-flight, working at Anfield has eluded him and will continue to do so during his career as a referee.
Fox Sports commentator Brenton Speed explained back in 2019 how Gillett's allegiances meant his first Anfield outing would be his last.
"He told me about this a couple of months ago, said keep it under your hat because I’m not sure whether I’ll get the appointment," Speed said on the Fox Football Podcast.
"That’ll be the last game he ever officiates at Anfield because he had to fill out a document when he agreed to join the referees' board over there and you have to fill in the team you supported as a boy/man and he said it was Liverpool.
"So that means you're taken off all their games, home or away."
