What can Sunderland expect from referee Sam Barrott at Villa Park this weekend?
Regis Le Bris’ men head to Villa Park on Sunday off the back of consecutive wins over Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, keeping them firmly in the hunt for European football. Barrott is a referee the Black Cats are very familiar with, but what sort of effect can we expect him to have on the game?
When did Sam Barrott last referee Sunderland?
Two of Barrott’s 19 Premier League matches this season have involved Sunderland, with the most recent back in February. Unfortunately for the Black Cats, it was a 3-0 defeat away at leaders Arsenal, courtesy of goals from Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres (x2). Barrott was reserved with his cards that day, only booking Brian Brobbey and Habib Diarra for Sunderland, while William Saliba was the sole Gunner to see yellow.
Sam Barrott’s Sunderland record
That was the eighth time Barrott has refereed Sunderland during his career to date, with only five sides coming under his whistle more often. The Mackems have a generally positive record in those matches, winning four and drawing two, while only suffering two defeats. However, two of those defeats have come in their last four, with Sunderland losing 2-1 at home to Ipswich Town at the start of the 2023/24 Championship campaign, alongside that aforementioned loss to Arsenal.
Barrott has shown 13 yellow cards to Sunderland players during that time, as well as a second yellow card sending off and one straight red. In fact, that dismissal came this season, against Aston Villa of all teams, with Reinildo Mandava getting his marching orders during a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Sam Barrott’s 2025/26 Premier League record
As mentioned, Barrott has taken charge of 19 Premier League matches so far this season, with only five officials refereeing more. Barrott is one of the most lenient referees, with only Paul Tierney (18.63) giving fewer fouls per game than him (19.21). The 34-year-old is also 16th for yellow cards per game (3.63) and 18th for red cards per game (0.05), showing 69 of the former overall, and just one of the latter. That said, Barrott has awarded 0.32 penalties per game, with just six Premier League referees exceeding that total.
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