STEVE TANNER will referee Sunday’s big match.
The Somerset whistler, 40, was in charge when Town won 3-2 at Brighton last month and when Carlisle were beaten 3-0 in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy area final second leg at the Galpharm in February.
He also took the 1-0 defeat at Swindon in September with the Old Trafford clash his 46th match of the season.
He began refereeing in 1987 and made the assistants’ list in 1998 before taking charge of his first Football League game, Kidderminster v Mansfield, in August 2003.
Tanner has Premier League experience and was on the international list between January 2008 and November 2009.
Tanner has taken two Championship play-off semi-finals: Watford v Crystal Palace in 2006 and Wolves v West Brom the year after.
The assistant referees will be Merseyside’s Peter Bankes and Charles Breakspear, from Surrey.
Hertfordshire’s Mick Russell, who refereed Town’s play-off semi-final first leg at Bournemouth, will be fourth official with Tyne and Wear’s Seb Stockbridge on stand-by.
