Ballymena United v Crusaders

Stephen Donaldson Assistant Referee 1 Stephen completed his introductory refereeing course in September 2010 and started to blow the whistle a week later in the Belfast & District League. He made the move into assistant refereeing in 2012. Following a successful period in the NIFL Championship, including an Intermediate Cup Final and a Steel & Sons Cup Final, he gained promotion to the NIFL Premiership list at the start of the 2014-15 season. In 2015 Stephen was chosen to attend the UEFA CORE (Centre of Refereeing Excellence) programme. After gaining his UEFA Diploma he was nominated for the 2016 FIFA International Assistant Referee panel, representing Northern Ireland. Stephen has been involved in all major cup finals in Northern Ireland as well as various UEFA competitions – officiating in 25 different countries in the past eight years. Ryan Kelsey Assistant Referee 2 Ryan began refereeing in the Mid Ulster Youth League in 2009 before specialising as an assistant referee in 2014. He officiated his first NIFL Premiership game in 2016 and was promoted to the elite panel of assistant referees for the 2017-18 season. Ryan represented Northern Ireland at the UEFA CORE programme in 2017 and has been on the FIFA list of assistant referees since 2020. He has officiated matches in countries across Europe, including Iceland, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Today’s match will be his second major domestic final after the 2022 NIFL League Cup Final between Cliftonville and Coleraine. Evan Boyce Fourth Official Evan is now in his 20th season as a referee. He officiated in the Irish FA Youth Cup and Intermediate Cup finals before making his debut in the top flight on New Year's Day 2014. Since then Evan has officiated in 13 European countries, both in domestic and UEFA competitions. This will be Evan's second major final appearance having refereed the 2019 Co Antrim Shield decider and he is delighted to be involved in the pinnacle of the game in Northern Ireland.

Rachel Greer Reserve Assistant Referee Rachel began refereeing in 2015 and after specialising as an assistant in the 2016 season she gained her FIFA Women’s Badge in January 2017. She took some time out of football in 2017-2018 due to pregnancy but returned for season 2019-2020. She was promoted to the NIFL Premiership assistant referee panel at the start of this season. Rachel was assistant referee in the Country Antrim Shield Final in December 2020, which was played behind closed doors due to Covid-19. She has been involved in UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers and a number of women’s matches across Europe.

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