Joe McQuillan to referee All-Ireland football final between Mayo and Tyrone

FINAL MAN: Cavan's Joe McQuillan will referee the Mayo v Tyrone All-Ireland SFC final on Sept 11. Pic: Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile

Joe McQuillan will referee the Mayo-Tyrone All-Ireland SFC final.

With the Irish Examiner having reported this Wednesday lunchtime that the Cavan native was to take charge of the Mayo-Tyrone decider on Saturday week, September 11, the GAA subsequently confirmed the appointment.

It will be the fourth time McQuillan has been the man in the middle on All-Ireland football final day and a full 10 years after his first All-Ireland senior final gig, the 2011 decider between Dublin and Kerry. He also refereed the 2013 and 2017 finals, both of those games involving 2021 finalists Mayo.

Saturday week will be his first time taking charge of an All-Ireland senior final involving Tyrone.

McQuillan has refereed Tyrone in the championship this year, he was the man in charge on the afternoon of their Ulster semi-final win over Donegal in mid-July.

Irish Examiner columnist and four-time All-Ireland hurling final referee Brian Gavin tipped McQuillian in recent weeks to get the nod for the footballer decider.

“The rumour mill is suggesting Joe McQuillan, who has been refereeing well this summer,” he wrote in Monday's Examiner.

Meath’s David Gough has been appointed standby referee. The other linesman is Brendan Cawley of Kildare. The sideline Official will be Down’s Ciaran Branagan.

McQuillan’s umpires on the day will be Ciaran Brady, and T.P Gray (Kill Shamrocks), Jimmy Galligan (Killygarry), and Mickey Lee (Drumalee).