Ennis man, Padraig Sutton will referee the FAI Ford Cup Final between Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic, at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, November 2.
For Sutton, it is his second major domestic final in 14 months, as he refereed the 2013 EA SPORTS Cup. He is looking forward to taking charge of a competitive game at the Aviva Stadium, having previously refereed Manchester City v Airtricity League XI in 2011 and Shamrock Rovers v Liverpool earlier this year.
“Being appointed to referee your own domestic cup final is the greatest honour that can be bestowed upon an official so I am absolutely delighted and looking forward to refereeing in the Aviva Stadium,” said Sutton, who is a member member of An Garda Siochána.
“I’m stationed at Roxboro Road in Limerick and everybody there has been hugely supportive of me over the years, as has my partner Claire,” said Sutton who has been on the FIFA list since 2011 and has just returned from a UEFA U17 qualifying round tournament in Serbia this week.
Sutton’s team will also consist of assistant referees, Ciaran Delaney and Wayne McDonnell and the fourth official will be Paul McLaughlin.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.