West Ham United v Crystal Palace
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 20 September 2025, 3pm BST
Referee: Tony Harrington
Assistant Referees: Steven Meredith and Alex James
Fourth Official: Michael Salisbury
VAR: Nick Hopton
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
Tony Harrington has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United’s Premier League derby with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
One of the newest top-flight referees, who was promoted to Select Group One ahead of the 2021/22 season, Harrington takes the whistle for his fourth Hammers fixture and first this season.
Harrington refereed West Ham twice last season. The first was the opening-day home fixture against Aston Villa last August, and the second a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 1 April this year.
Prior to that, Harrington refereed our 2-1 top-flight win at Wolves in April 2024. He has also taken charge of four Crystal Palace fixtures since first refereeing in the Premier League in December 2021.
In all, Hartlepool-based Harrington has refereed 38 Premier League matches, in addition to 199 in the EFL Championship.
He took charge of two Wembley finals in the space of a week in May 2021. First, he officiated the FA Trophy final between Hereford and Hornchurch, then he returned for Blackpool's League Two Play-Off final victory over Lincoln City.
Assistant Steven Meredith has huge experience, having run the line in nearly 400 senior matches, including 75 in the Premier League and over 250 in the EFL.
On the opposite touchline, Alex James makes his Premier League debut as an assistant, having ascended all the way from the National League. He has assisted 127 EFL matches in between, including Carlisle United’s League Two Play-Off final win over Stockport County at Wembley Stadium in 2023.
The fourth official will be former PE teacher Michael Salisbury, who has been part of the Select Group of Referees since the 2022/23 season. Lancastrian Salisbury has officiated matches in the Premier League, EFL and Carabao Cup already this term.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duties will be overseen by Nick Hopton. An experienced VAR, Hopton has been at Stockley Park for 40 Premier League matches, including West Ham’s 1-0 win at Arsenal last season.
He will be assisted by Sian Massey-Ellis. One of England’s highest-profile female match officials, Massey-Ellis has been an assistant referee for matches in the Premier League and EFL, UEFA Women's Champions League, FIFA Women's World Cup and UEFA Europa League The 39-year-old was Assistant VAR in last season’s Carabao Cup final between Newcastle United and Liverpool.
