Kevin Friend was blocked from running Tottenham’s game at Stoke City last season because he supported Spurs’ title rivals Leicester.
ANTHONY TAYLOR has copped a load of flak from a former referees’ chief and a section of Liverpool fans for daring to be appointed for Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool on Monday night.
Because the Wythenshaw man lives just six miles from Old Trafford, Keith Hackett has highlighted there could be problems with him officiating and a number of Anfield fans are up in arms on Twitter.
For the record, Taylor supports lowly Altringham, making his involvement in the clash irrelevant.
But the Premier League set a dangerous precedent back in April last season when they stopped Kevin Friend from running Tottenham’s game at Stoke City because he supported Spurs’ title rivals Leicester.
At the start of every season The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) asks all of its referees where they live and who they support. They then select their matches accordingly.
Here’s the latest list of where each referee lives and who they support:
MARTIN ATKINSON, from Bradford, supports LEEDS UNITED
STUART ATTWELL, from Nuneaton, supports LUTON
MARK CLATTENBURG, from Consett, County Durham, supports NEWCASTLE UNITED
MIKE DEAN, from Wirral, supports TRANMERE
ROGER EAST, from Wiltshire, supports no one but occasionally watches SALISBURY FC
KEVIN FRIEND, from Bristol, supports BRISTOL CITY and LEICESTER
SIMON HOOPER, from Wiltshire, supports SWINDON
MIKE JONES, from Chester, supports CHESTER
ROBERT MADLEY, from Wakefield, supports HUDDERSFIELD
ANDRE MARRINER, from Birmingham, supports ASTON VILLA
LEE MASON, from Bolton, supports BOLTON WANDERERS
JON MOSS, from Sunderland, supports SUNDERLAND
MICHAEL OLIVER, from Ashington, supports NEWCASTLE UNITED
