Who is the referee for Arsenal vs. Chelsea? Past controversies & record in charge of both clubs

Arsenal will welcome Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie on Tuesday night, with the Gunners holding a 3-2 aggregate lead following the first leg meeting at Stamford Bridge in January.

As Tuesday's decisive encounter draws closer, the EFL have confirmed the officials that will take charge of the second leg between the London rivals.

Here, Sports Mole will take a closer look at the referee for the game, their record in charge of both clubs and their past controversies.

Who is the referee in charge of Arsenal vs. Chelsea?

The EFL have confirmed that Peter Bankes will be the man responsible for refereeing the EFL Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

Bankes will be provided support by Edward Smart and Blake Antrobus on the touchlines, while Thomas Bramall has been appointed as the fourth official, with one of several tasks including overseeing the conduct and behaviour of the two dugouts.

The four officials at the ground will also be provided with support from Stockley Park, with James Bell appointed as the video assistant referee and Daniel Robathan as the assistant video assistant referee.

Record in charge of Arsenal and Chelsea

Bankes has been refereeing in the Premier League since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, meaning he has certainly overseen his fair share of both Arsenal and Chelsea matches.

The referee has taken charge of Chelsea on 12 occasions in the league throughout his career, and the Blues have a favourable record under the official, winning six of the 12 games in which Bankes was the referee, alongside three draws and three defeats.

Bankes has shown more red cards to Chelsea than any other team throughout his refereeing career, alongside Fulham, issuing three dismissals in 12 matches.

Chelsea did suffer a 2-1 defeat in their last game with Bankes as referee, losing 2-1 to rivals Fulham, a game in which Marc Cucurella was sent off after just 22 minutes for a last-man foul on Harry Wilson.

Meanwhile, Bankes has overseen Arsenal on two fewer occasions, taking charge of the Gunners on just 10 occasions in the league, while the referee has never awarded a red card to the Gunners.

However, Arsenal have particularly enjoyed their matches under Bankes' authority, winning seven, drawing one and losing just two of the 10 fixtures.

Similarly to Chelsea, though, Arsenal lost the last time Bankes acted as their referee, with Aston Villa securing a dramatic last-minute 2-1 victory in early December 2025.

Past controversies

As is often the case for top-flight officials, Bankes has found himself involved in numerous controversial decisions throughout his career in the Premier League.

One of the highest-profile controversies involving Bankes came in April 2025 during the 1-1 draw between Bournemouth and Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium.

Tyler Adams flew into a challenge on Alejandro Garnacho, with Bankes only awarding a yellow card, which caused outrage for many supporters with the belief that the midfielder should have seen red.

Later in the same game, Evanilson was handed a red card for a challenge on Noussair Mazraoui, despite the striker clearly slipping and avoiding contact with the Man Utd defender with his raised leg.

Bankes has also been at the centre of controversial decisions when refereeing Chelsea, with the referee widely criticised for not awarding a penalty against the Blues in their victory over Burnley at the start of the 2025-26 season.

Robert Sanchez appeared to have taken a goal-kick for Chelsea by passing short to Trevoh Chalobah, only for the defender to deliberately stop the ball using his hand.

Despite it appearing to be clear that Sanchez had already resumed play, with multiple Burnley attackers proceeding to appeal for a penalty, the referee waved play on and allowed Chalobah to take the goal kick.

Later in the same game, Bankes awarded a yellow card to Benoit Badiashile for pushing Maxime Esteve inside the Chelsea box while a Burnley corner was being taken, but the referee did not award a penalty.

That decision led to many questioning how a penalty was not given when Badiashile was booked for a foul inside the Chelsea box with the ball already in play.