The Premier League have confirmed which officials have been appointed for Leeds United's Friday night meeting with West Ham.
The Premier League have confirmed this weekend’s referee appointments with Stuart Attwell to take charge of Leeds United vs West Ham.
Leeds return home on Friday having suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Burnley last time out. Goals either side of half-time from Lesley Ugochukwu and Loum Tchaouna ensured all three points remained at Turf Moor, with Daniel Farke’s side struggling to break down their resolute hosts despite dominating possession.
West Ham had to wait until Monday night for their gameweek eight fixture and also lost 2-0, this time at home to Brentford on what was a miserable night for the East Londoners. A fourth straight home defeat kept the Hammers down in 19th as boos rang around the London Stadium after full-time.
Friday’s meeting at Elland Road is massive for both sides, with victory needed on either end to build confidence and get vital points on the board. And the Premier League have now confirmed the appointment of experienced referee Attwell to take charge of the fixture.
Attwell is among the top-flight’s more experienced officials and has taken charge of five Premier League games so far, including a high-profile 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Manchester City. On average, he has blown for 21.6 fouls and brandished five yellow cards per game, the second highest bookings average among all referees in the division.
Attwell is yet to referee a single game this season involving Leeds or West Ham. On Friday, he will be assisted by Constantine Hatzidakis and Marc Perry, with David Webb appointed fourth official and Craig Pawson in charge of VAR.
Stuart Attwell’s dramatic last trip to Elland Road
While Attwell hasn’t yet taken charge of a Leeds game this season, he will be well known to Farke having dropped into the Championship for one of the previous campaign’s high-profile fixtures. The Premier League-level referee was appointed to oversee February’s top-of-the-table meeting between the Whites and Sunderland at Elland Road.
Leeds spent much of that game 1-0 down before substitutes Joe Rothwell and Pascal Struijk twice combined to turn the game on its head. The latter’s second goal came deep into added-time and sparked wild celebrations, including in the home dugout.
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A jubilant Farke burst onto his feet and fell to the floor, albeit encroaching onto the pitch at the time. He was booked by Attwell for those celebrations and subsequently handed a touchline ban for the following week’s equally important - and equally dramatic - trip to Sheffield United.
“Probably for the celebration,” Farke said, when quizzed about that late booking at the time. “When I spoke with the referee, it stays with us, I have a good relationship with the referees and respect what they decide. I never thought I would get a yellow card for celebrating. If you score a winner in 91st minute, I'll have to watch the scene back to see if it's deserved. That's all I can say to this.”
Farke will hope to not have to wait until the 95th minute for three points to be secure on Friday, with a great chance for Leeds to take advantage of West Ham’s woes. The German has a few selection decisions to make and will provide an update on his squad’s fitness later this week.
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