The Football Association has defended its decision to appoint referee Mike Riley for the Everton v Manchester United FA Cup semi final.

Riley was given the job of officiating at the game after original choice Steve Bennett withdrew because of illness. But the move hasn’t gone down overly well with the Everton boss David Moyes.

Moyes and Riley have had a number of clashes over the years, most notably 6 years ago when Riley awarded a penalty to United in the final game of the season which saw Everton miss out on Uefa Cup qualification.

Additionally, it has been suggested that Riley is a United fan.

However the Football Association was quick to back their man saying:

All our referees are fair, unbiased and objective. Mike Riley is one of our top officials and we are 100% confident he will do a good job on Sunday.

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