Who is the referee for Celtic v Falkirk? Match officials and VAR confirmed for Premier Sports Cup tie

Brendan Rodgers’ side have started their campaign in typically strong fashion, beating top six hopefuls St Mirren and Aberdeen in their opening two league games. However, the Hoops attention will now turn to the cup as they look to win the competition for a fourth time in the last five seasons.

Expected to rotate with a huge Champions League qualifier to come on Wednesday night against Kairat Almaty, Celtic could hand first starts of the season to Shin Yamada, Anthony Ralston, and Paulo Bernardo. They will be without long-term injury victim Jota (ACL), though.

Falkirk boss John McGlynn is expected to be without a number of first-team players for the Premier Sports Cup clash, with Coll Donaldson, Finn Yeats, Jamie Sneddon, Barney Stewart, and Tom Lang all confirmed as out. Ethan Ross is a doubt with a knee problem.

Ahead of the game, we look at who the Scottish FA has confirmed as the match officials for Friday’s game at Celtic Park:

Who is the referee for Celtic v Falkirk?

The man in the middle for this weekend’s game will be Lloyd Wilson, who has officiated in the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Championship and Premier Sports Cup in recent years.

Last season, he took charge of eight Scottish Premiership games. During the 2024/25 season, Wilson handed out a total of 34 yellow cards (an average of 4.25 per game), and three red cards (0.38 per game). He has taken charge of four Premier Sports Cup ties and one Scottish Championship game this season, issuing 12 yellow cards (an average of 2.4 per game), and no red cards.

Celtic v Falkirk VAR and match officials

Wilson will be assisted by officials Chris Rae and Graham McNeillie. On VAR duties it is John Beaton, and he will be joined by David Roome as his assistant.

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.