Brentford v West Ham United
Premier League, Gtech Community Stadium, Saturday 28 September 2024, 3pm BST
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Adrian Holmes and Simon Long
Fourth Official: Tom Nield
VAR: David Coote
Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
Simon Hooper has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United’s fourth London derby of the 2024/25 Premier League season, away at Brentford on Saturday.
Born in Swindon, the 42-year-old began refereeing in the Football League in 2008 and took charge of his first Premier League match in August 2015; a 3-1 win for Crystal Palace at Norwich City.
He was promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2018, and in total, he has been the man in the middle during 12 fixtures involving West Ham, most recently against the Bees at London Stadium in February 2024, which finished 4-2 in the Hammers’ favour.
Having held the whistle in two EFL League One Play-Off finals, in 2017 and 2022, Hooper - who is on the FIFA International Referees list - has refereed four fixtures so far this season, twice in the Championship and twice in the top-flight.
Adrian Holmes and Simon Long will serve as the assistant referees at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Holmes has worked as an assistant referee in three Premier League matches this campaign, including Brentford’s narrow defeat at Manchester City earlier this month, and has been a linesman in the top tier since the 2012/13 season.
Long, meanwhile, has worked in the Premier League since 2009/10 and has run the line at four games in the division this season.
The pair were both working as assistants in West Ham’s aforementioned win over Brentford earlier this calendar year, alongside ref Hooper.
Tom Nield has been named as the fourth official for Saturday.
An experienced whistler in the EFL, who took charge of the 2023 EFL League Two Play-Off final, Nield has never refereed in the Premier League, but has undertaken fourth official duties in the division on nine occasions, including West Ham’s match against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day 2019.
Storied Premier League referee David Coote is set to oversee Video Assistant Referee duties, and he will be assisted by Craig Taylor.
