The Premier League has confirmed the officials for the match between Newcastle United and Sheffield United.
The Premier League has confirmed the match officials for Newcastle United’s match against Sheffield United this afternoon (kick-off 3pm).
Eddie Howe’s side welcomes the Blades to St James’ Park, looking to recover from Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, which broke their four-game unbeaten streak.
While there is a lot at stake for the Magpies in their pursuit of European qualifying, the visitors confront a difficult scenario as well, knowing that a defeat on Tyneside will result in relegation to the Championship.
Tony Harrington, whose grandpa played for Hartlepool United in the North East, will oversee the game. He officiated Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Everton earlier this month, awarding a late penalty that Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted.
In January, Harrington officiated Sheffield United’s 3-2 defeat at Palace, when Chris Wilder described his performance as ‘terrible’ and accused a linesman of a ‘total lack of respect’ for eating a sandwich in a post-match meeting.
“It’s yet again another ridiculous performance from the referee,” Wilder stated. “I was told by a Premier League referee I’ve known for a long time and who is as truthful as the day is long.” He stated that every 50/50 decision will be against you.
“We had two bookings in the first half of the game, but they were not reservations. They were just coming together.
“Their boy totally takes out our goalkeeper; we have to change goalkeepers, and the boy is not booked. He claims it was an accident, he clashed, and it makes no difference whether it is or is not an accident. It is a yellow card.
“We pick up four yellow cards, and they pick up one at the end for wasting time. They are taking a long time. Their game management was good, but they’re taking their time.
“We talked to Howard Webb about speeding up the game and ensuring that officials had a handle on it, and he could hear the supporters’ dissatisfaction. He could see our guys’ displeasure.
“Every 50/50 or tight decision goes against us, and if that’s what we have to deal with from now until the end of the season, we’ll deal with it.
“But I’m not going to stay under the radar and say nothing. I went to see the referee and told him that.
“One of his assistants was eating a sandwich at the moment, which I thought showed a complete lack of respect. I hope he liked his meal while he was chatting to a Premier League manager.”
The FA later fined Wilder £11,500 for statements that “imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the referee, or referees generally, and/or bring the game into disrepute”.
Eddie Smart and Sian Massey-Ellis will help Harrington, while Andy Madley and Ian Hussin will handle VAR duties. Robert Jones is the fourth official.
