The officiating team for Leeds United's Premier League fixture at home to Manchester City has been confirmed.
The Premier League have confirmed their latest round of referee appointments with Peter Bankes to take charge of Leeds United vs Manchester City.
Leeds face arguably their toughest test of the remaining season on Saturday when they host title-challenging City at Elland Road. The Whites drew 1-1 at Aston Villa last time out but would be forgiven for feeling a little disappointed, given the late nature of Tammy Abraham’s equaliser after Anton Stach’s wonderful free-kick.
City, meanwhile, will arrive in West Yorkshire this weekend on a great run of form, with Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle their fifth in a row across all competitions. Another win would pull them to within two points of league-leaders Arsenal while anything for Leeds would take them closer to safety.
Ahead of a huge game at either end of the table, the Premier League have confirmed the appointment of Bankes as referee. He will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Blake Antrobus on the day, with Oli Langford as fourth official and Paul Howard on VAR duties.
Bankes has taken charge of 19 Premier League games so far this season, awarding 22.58 fouls and brandishing 3.95 yellow cards per game on average - which places slightly on the stricter side compared to his colleagues. The top-flight referee has been in the middle of three Leeds games so far, including the reverse fixture at the Etihad in November.
He was also in charge of two Elland Road clashes, a 0-0 draw against Newcastle back in August and Leeds’ brilliant 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month in which he earned a 3/10 in the YEP’s player ratings. Despite that poor showing, Bankes hasn’t been involved in any major controversies surrounding the Whites but has come under scrutiny this week.
Leeds United vs Man City ref involved in Arsenal controversy
Bankes was appointed to take charge of Sunday’s north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and City’s key title rivals Arsenal. The Gunners won 4-1 but might have been fortunate not to have been put under more pressure by their hosts, who saw a potentially crucial goal ruled out.
At 2-1 down, Spurs striker Randal Kolo Muani thought he’d equalised for a second time after bringing Conor Gallagher’s deflected cross down but Bankes swiftly stopped play for a foul on Gabriel. Replays showed some contact on the Arsenal defender’s back before a somewhat theatrical fall.
Leeds fans might remember a similar incident involving Gabriel and their own former striker Patrick Bamford back in 2022, again with some minor contact. However there was no clear push like was seen when Jaka Bijol recently gave away a penalty against Chelsea.
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“I just think it’s soft,” former goalkeeper Shay Given told Match of the Day regarding the disallowed Spurs goal. “You see Gabriel and you see Kolo Muani, there’s a coming together, but this is the Premier League, it’s a coming together, and it’s a physical sport.
“As a striker, you just think I’m going to bump him, but the way Gabriel has gone down, I don’t want to be too strong here, but the BAFTAs are only up the road. It’s crazy, I think Peter Bankes could let that go or at least speak to VAR.”
Bankes’ decision to disallow the Kolo Muani effort left Spurs fans in disbelief, with incoming manager Igor Tudor visibly gesturing on the touchline to suggest Gabriel dived. Arsenal were the beneficiaries, eventually winning comfortably, and the referee will now take charge of their title rivals’ trip to Elland Road.
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