Referee confirmed for Chesterfield-Portsmouth FA Cup clash - and he has history with Pompey

The Spireites and Pompey clash in front of the ITV cameras this Sunday (12.15pm). The match will see the National League leaders try to cause a big cup shock by dumping League One’s high-flyers out of the competition.

The game will be overseen by Will Finnie, who is a League One and League Two official. He appears to be a lucky charm for Portsmouth, who have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches when he has been the referee.

This season he has been in charge of 15 games, issuing 51 yellows and three reds. One of those sending-offs came in a Portsmouth match back in September when Finnie gave Wigan Athletic’s Charlie Wyke his marching orders in a fixture which Pompey won 2-1. Last season, he was also the man in the middle for Portsmouth’s 1-0 away win at Fleetwood Town a year ago. Finnie's latest outing was a 0-0 draw between Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United on Tuesday night.

The records show that he has been the referee for at least one Chesterfield match, which was a 2-2 draw away at Solihull Moors in January 2019.

Chesterfield manager Paul Cook, who led Pompey to the League Two title in 2017, will be back on the touchline on Sunday after serving a four-match touchline ban. Cook was given the suspension after being sent off against Halifax and for his actions after that decision.