British referee Andre Marriner to officiate EFL Cup final

The English Football League has announced that British referee Andre Marriner will be in charge of the EFL Cup final between Manchester United and Southampton on February 26.

Marriner, 46, will be accompanied at Wembley Stadium by Richard West and Stuart Burt as assistants and Kevin Friend as the fourth official.

In the 24 matches he has officiated this season, Marriner has shown 92 yellow cards and 5 red cards. He has been a FIFA referee since 2004 and an international referee since 2009, officiating in the Premier League.

Earlier this season, during a match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford, Marriner failed to see a penalty committed by the London team. However, Jose Mourinho chose not to criticize the referee after the match, stating that he is "an honest man and a good referee."

"I don't want to talk about it. I get along well with Andre Marriner, he's the kind of referee who, if he makes mistakes against my team, I know he doesn't do it on purpose. I remember what he told us before the match in the dressing room: 'I don't want to be seen, I want to do my job as best as possible,'" Mourinho said.

"And he's right: he never wants to be the star of the game. He's an honest man and a good referee," he added.

Manchester United, who eliminated Hull City in the semifinals, will face Southampton in the EFL Cup final on Saturday, February 26 (16:30 GMT) at Wembley Stadium in London. Southampton defeated Liverpool in the last round of the tournament.