Referee announced for West Ham’s match against Liverpool
West Ham’s tough run of games continues on Saturday with a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool, but there is good news on the referee.
The refereeing in the Premier League has come under fire for incompetence over the last few years. Even the introduction of VAR has done little to help referees marshall a football match without any controversy. West Ham fans felt the force of VAR multiple times last season.
It has become a raffle in recent times as to what quality of officiating there will be. But West Ham fans can be at relative ease ahead of their match against Liverpool knowing that Kevin Friend will be taking responsibility for the match.
Friend has overseen fifteen Premier League matches involving the Hammers. The East London side has earned positive results in eight of those games, winning five and drawing three. The last games that Friend officiated over for West Ham was their 4-0 victory over Norwich last season.
The Englishman has only ever sent off one Hammer in the past. Mark Noble was dismissed for two yellow cards against Liverpool in 2015, though the second challenge was maybe a tad harsh. Friend, however, gave Liverpool a red card in the same match. Plus, he has not given a penalty against the Hammers since a match against Manchester City in 2017.
In a fixture that West Ham have not had a lot of luck in, the Hammers have lost their last three Premier League games at Anfield. Freind could turn out to be a friend indeed. Although, it could be expected that the referee will be put under pressure from Liverpool, who have felt aggrieved by some recent decisions in their matches.
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The Hammers will be hoping that Friend resists any pressure he is put under and referees the match in a justified fashion. Friend’s assistants are Simon Beck and Eddie Smart, whereas the Fourth official is Craig Pawson. The Video Assistant Referee is Chris Kavanagh, and his assistant is Sian Massey-Ellis.