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The referee for the Community Shield has now been confirmed, with Arsenal set to take on Manchester City.

The Community Shield traditionally serves as the curtain-raiser to the English domestic season, bringing together the Premier League champions and the FA Cup holders.

This year's match will see Arsenal play Manchester City after the Gunners ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title last season, while the Citizens defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

The two clubs have built up a compelling rivalry in recent years, so the question is which referee has been given the job of keeping control of the players in the 2026 Community Shield.

This year's Community Shield will be slightly different, as the fixture is being staged outside England for the first time since 2006.

With Wembley Stadium unavailable, the match will instead be played at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. The venue previously hosted six straight editions of the curtain-raiser between 2001 and 2006 while the London stadium was being rebuilt.

The referee in the middle in Cardiff will be Sam Barrott, who has been officiating in the Premier League since the 2023/24 season.

The 32-year-old handled 30 matches in English football last season, including five games involving Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's team won four of those matches, while Barrott also oversaw the 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Championship side Southampton in April.

He was in charge of three Manchester City matches, including two against Newcastle United - a 2-1 Premier League defeat and a 3-1 FA Cup win - as well as a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Brentford.

Across those 30 matches, Barrott issued 107 bookings - an average of around 3.5 per game - along with one red card, shown to Sunderland's Reinildo Mandava in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in September.

The official also worked at this summer's Under 19 European Championship in Wales, where he refereed Spain's 2-0 win over Germany in the final.

Craig Taylor and Blake Antrobus will serve as the assistant referees for the Community Shield, while Farai Hallam has been appointed as the fourth official.

Meanwhile, James Bell will be on VAR duty, with Tim Wood assisting him.