HORSFORTH'S Jon Moss has spoken of his pride after being appointed to referee this year's FA Cup final at Wembley.

The 44-year-old official, who has been a professional referee since 2011, will take charge of the match between Arsenal and Aston Villa on May 30.

Moss, who will be assisted by Darren England and Simon Bennett, said: "It was a complete surprise. When I got the call, it was the realisation of a dream really. For any referee, it is the pinnacle of your career.

"I've been involved in the Community Shield and the Conference and Championship play-off finals – but this is the biggest game I will ever referee."

Moss has continued to teach one day a week as an executive head at Beech Hill School in Halifax since becoming a Premier League referee.

He said: "As a young boy, I used to watch the FA Cup final with my dad. We always had the programme and we went to a couple of finals at Wembley.

"You dream about playing in a final as a boy but I've dreamed about refereeing as I got older. Referees are no different to players and you strive always to get those massive games."

Moss refereed his first game as a teenager but only started to focus on officiating when a career which started with Sunderland's youth team ended.

He said: "I've always been involved in football. As part of my A level studies I qualified as a football referee, a basketball referee and a rugby referee.

"At 18 I refereed my first game. I would be playing most of the weekend but I would do junior games on the Sunday afternoon.

"I was playing until I was 29 but when my career ended, it was my love for football that encouraged me to focus on refereeing.

"I still like to do grass-roots football. Refereeing top-flight football and grass-roots football have their own challenges. With Premier League football, everything is magnified and every decision you make is under scrutiny.

"I think it is important for younger referees to see more experienced colleagues doing a junior game. It keeps you grounded."

Moss says he "cannot wait" for the cup final to come around and is excited to share the occasion with his wife and four children – including 14-year-old son Joe, who recently refereed his first game.

He said: "They don't often come to games but they will when it is such a special game like this."