Nottingham Forest will be refereed by Jon Moss when they face Huddersfield at Wembley on Sunday. It will be the Yorkshire-based official’s final game before he takes up a role with the Football Association.
Moss refereed his final Premier League game yesterday. He was in the middle as Leicester City finished their 2021/22 campaign with a win over Southampton at the King Power Stadium.
The 51-year-old will need to kit up one final time, however. He will take charge of Forest when they face the Terriers at the national stadium as a parting gift from the FA.
Moss has taken charge of just one Championship game this season. He was the man in black as Stoke beat Luton 1-0 back in November; issuing six yellow cards and seemingly annoying both managers.
Undoubtedly an experienced official, Moss was in the news last week for all the wrong reasons, with Steven Gerrard particularly critical of the match official.
The Premier League referee was in charge as Gerrard’s Aston Villa team took on Liverpool. Moss made some bizarre decisions and the Villa incumbent claimed afterwards that he was glad the referee was calling it quits.
Moss last took charge of Forest on March 6th 2021. He was in the middle as the Reds lost 1-0 to Watford in a game that was shown live on Sky Sports when Chris Hughton was in charge.
On Sunday, Moss will be assisted by Marc Perry and Tim Wood, with Craig Pawson named as the fourth official. Paul Tierney will take charge of VAR from Stockley Park.
Moss appointed to Forest fixture and Reds must focus on the game plan
If Forest can take care of business on the pitch it doesn’t really matter who is holding the whistle. It has to be said, however, that the appointment of Moss does look like a strange one.
The fact he’s retiring and taking on a permanent VAR role speaks volumes. If he was still good enough to perform at the top level the Premier League would be doing whatever it takes to persuade him to stay on.
Moss’ fitness has come into question previously too. Players, managers, pundits and even former referees have questioned his physique and he will have a tough task when it comes to keeping up with two counter-attacking teams at the weekend.
Forest must try not to focus too much on who is taking charge of the play-off final. It’s fair to say the Football Association haven’t done the Reds or Huddersfield too many favours with this sentimental call.