Premier League confirm Fulham vs Leeds United referee appointment after Chelsea controversy
Leeds United head to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The Premier League have announced their referee appointments for matchweek four with Craig Pawson to take charge of Fulham vs Leeds United.
Daniel Farke’s side return from the September international break hoping to build on a steadily-impressive August. Leeds took four points from their first three fixtures - two of which came against Champions League opposition in Arsenal and Newcastle United - and sit 12th going into the weekend.
Hosts Fulham are yet to taste victory in the Premier League this season, drawing against Manchester United and Brighton before a controversial 2-0 defeat at Chelsea before the September break. Marco Silva’s side currently occupy the third and final relegation spot at this early point of the campaign.
Ahead of Saturday’s meeting, the Premier League have confirmed Pawson will take charge at Craven Cottage, his third top-flight fixture of the season. The experienced official blew for an average of 22.59 fouls per game last season while brandishing 4.32 yellow cards every 90 minutes, placing him among the stricter referees who were regularly in charge at Premier League-level.
Pawson will be assisted by Lee Betts and Mark Scholes at Craven Cottage, with Josh Smith between both dugouts as fourth official. Paul Tierney will be in charge of VAR at Stockley Park, with Blake Antrobus his assistant on the day.
There will be plenty of focus on the officials at Craven Cottage this weekend, given the controversy surrounding Fulham’s most recent defeat at Chelsea. Cottagers forward Josh King’s 21st-minute opener was ruled out after a VAR review adjudged Rodrigo Muniz to have fouled Trevoh Chalobah, much to the frustration of manager Silva.
Fulham fume over Chelsea decision as Leeds United referee confirmed
Chelsea went on to score two goals either side of half-time, both of which infuriated Fulham boss Silva for different reasons. Joao Pedro’s opener came in the ninth minute of first-half added-time, with a minimum of eight minutes added on, while Enzo Fernandez's penalty was awarded before another lengthy VAR check which Silva believed should have overturned the call.
“To disallow a goal like that is unbelievable,” Silva said of King’s effort after the defeat. “Unbelievable. We have all the meetings with the people in charge; we try to see their direction. One of the main things was: ‘VAR is not here to referee the game.’ I would prefer to say nothing more as I will be punished. I want to be on the bench for the next game, I don’t want to pay fines.”
In an episode of Match Officials Mic’d Up - where recent decisions are analysed and VAR conversations are released - PGMOL chief Howard Webb admitted the decision to rule King’s goal out was categorically incorrect. Michael Salisbury, who referred on-pitch official Rob Jones to the screen, was removed from VAR duty later that weekend and has not been given any officiating duties this week.
"It wasn't controversial, it was wrong,” Webb said of the incident. “We've established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR. They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We've also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.
"In this situation, that guidance wasn't followed properly. There was a misjudgment by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah. The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened."