Manchester United drew 1-1 with West Ham in the Premier Leagueplaceholder image
Manchester United drew 1-1 with West Ham in the Premier League | Getty Images
The Premier League has made their referee appointments ahead of the weekend’s fixtures as Manchester United prepare to face Bournemouth
If United do win, they could seriously cement their place as a proper Champions League contender, which is a massive improvement upon last season under Ruben Amorim. Plus, a Premier League decision ahead of the game seems to have gone their way.
Premier League appoint Simon Hooper for Man Utd vs Bournemouth
Ahead of the weekend, the Premier League have made their referee appointments for each game. Simon Hooper will be the referee for the game at Old Trafford on Monday night. It will be his ninth Premier League game of the season. He has dished out 42 yellow cards and two red cards so far.
He was most recently seen last weekend on the south coast, as he took charge of Brighton and West Ham’s 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium. In that game, he handed out four yellow cards, with two each way.
Adrian Holmes and Simon Long have been appointed as Hooper’s assistants, both of whom have worked with the referee on several occasions this season. Rob Jones will be the fourth official.
In terms of VAR, Paul Howard is in charge. He has been a referee in three games this season, two in League Two and one in League One, but he is more commonly a VAR in the Premier League. Howard’s assistant will be Sian Massey-Ellis.
Man United will be pleased with Hooper’s appointment
As far as referees go, fans are always likely going to be disappointed with an appointment, however, Man United fans should be pleased with this decision. So far this season, United have the best record under Hooper as he has given them the least number of yellow cards per game (1) this season, and one of the lowest foul rates in the Premier League.
Even better news for Man United, Hooper has given Bournemouth the fifth-most yellows out of any team he has officiated in the Premier League this season. Hooper also has a track record of making decisions which benefit United. Two seasons ago, he decided against giving Wolves a fairly obvious last-minute penalty, which handed Man United a 1-0 win.
The last time that United saw Hooper was for the first game of the season, which was a closely fought 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. It was a good performance by United, and a good game despite the loss, so it seems as though Hooper is a positive appointment in Man United’s eyes.
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