Chris Kavanagh has been appointed to referee Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, with the match starting at 5:30pm BST. It is a familiar face for the Blues, who had him in charge of their 2-1 defeat by Arsenal on September 6, with the Lancashire official having now taken charge of Chelsea 27 times.
Before the Arsenal game, his 26 Chelsea matches were the fourth-highest of any team, according to Squawka. Chelsea supporters may have cause for concern, with the club having lost each of its last three fixtures with him in charge. Before that defeat at the Emirates, the Blues had lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City, and 2-1 at Sunderland, with 25-year-old Wesley Fofana dismissed for two yellow cards in just eight minutes of the latter encounter, with three teammates also booked.
There is some comfort in the record, with Kavanagh awarding six penalties to the Blues in his career, compared to two given against them. The 41-year-old has been extremely busy this season, having taken charge of five Premier League games already, with 25 yellows and three reds shown in those fixtures. That averages out at five yellow cards per game, above the rate of around 4.1 he showed across 30 league matches last season. Six yellow cards were given out at the Emirates, with Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Maxence Lacroix all booked.
The official’s strictness will be put to the test in a fixture with an interesting, fiery record. Tottenham picked up a record nine yellow cards in the Premier League ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in May 2016, and had nine players left on the pitch for their 4-1 home defeat by the Blues in November 2023. Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte were also both sent off after the final whistle of a 2-2 draw in August 2022.
Both teams arrive at the match with their own disciplinary issues, with the Blues picking up four bookings at Everton last weekend, while Spurs are without Rodrigo Bentancur after his red card at Old Trafford.
‘Football Is Character’ – Roberto De Zerbi Defends Rodrigo Bentancur After Red Card
Tottenham will travel to Stamford Bridge without Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguayan was sent off for headbutting Luke Shaw. The incident occurred in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Manchester United, with Dominic Solanke saving a stoppage-time point for ten-man Spurs.
De Zerbi admitted the midfielder had reacted in the wrong way, but praised the attitude behind it, telling Sky Sports after the contest:
“I liked the situation with Rodrigo’s red card, we need in this moment that situation, not to bring a red card, but we need to not accept the defeat, to not accept conceding goals.”
With Bentancur banned for three fixtures, he missed Spurs’ 3-1 win over Coventry City on Monday and will also sit out Saturday’s game. He leaves a hole in midfield for De Zerbi to fill, with Lucas Bergvall also unavailable due to a knee injury.