The Premier League has confirmed its line-up of referees for the upcoming weekend of fixtures, with all eyes on the likes of Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor after a controversial run of games
Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor will each be back on refereeing duties in Week 6 of the Premier League campaign.
England’s top flight has confirmed the pair will each be in on-field roles at some point this coming weekend after a controversy-filled weekend. Oliver was in the hot seat for Manchester City’s tense 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal and made several contentious decisions as John Stones’ 98th-minute levellers secured a share of the spoils for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Arsenal were left fuming after Leandro Trossard was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half, the second of which was for very debatably kicking the ball away. Kyle Walker and his City team-mates were also incensed after the England international was called out of position by Oliver just prior to the Gunners scoring their first goal on the break.
Oliver will take a sideline role for Chelsea’s clash against Brighton on Saturday, where he’ll serve as the video assistant referee. However, he’ll be back in the main seat for Southampton’s trip to Bournemouth for a south coast derby on Monday evening (Sept. 30).
Taylor has been restored to referee duties after he was the fourth official for Brighton’s dramatic 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest. He had a hand in convincing referee Rob Jones to give Morgan Gibbs-White his second yellow card for a challenge on Joao Pedro in that clash after Jones initially suggested Gibbs-White had won the ball.
Jones then sent off both Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo and Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, while Gibbs-White screamed in Taylor’s face as he departed. Taylor was omitted from this past weekend’s refereeing after overseeing a contentious clash between Chelsea and Bournemouth one week prior, which produced an astonishing 14 yellow cards.
To mark his return, Taylor will oversee another of England’s giants as Liverpool look to down Wolves at Molineux. The official has refereed the Reds more than any other club in his career to date and was in charge for their 3-0 victory over Manchester United earlier in September.
Jones, meanwhile, will not be back in a top saddle in Week 6 and will instead settle for fourth official duties for Manchester City’s trip to Newcastle. That doesn’t mean the pressure will be any lesser, however, as City seek to get back to winning ways in tough territory.
Elsewhere, Chris Kavanagh has arguably the biggest matchup of the week on his hands as a hot-and-cold Manchester United host Tottenham on Sunday. It was he who sent Declan Rice marching under controversial circumstances when Arsenal drew with Brighton earlier this season, but the Old Trafford matchup could be his most difficult task so far.
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