Sunderland and Arsenal face off in the Premier League on Saturday at 5:30pm, with Craig Pawson the man in the middle.
Pawson has refereed six Premier League games so far this season, one of the more-used officials in the division. The official has only shown 12 yellow cards in that time, proving to be extremely lenient.
Pawson refereed Arsenal twice last season but this will be his first Gunners game not at the Emirates Stadium since February 2024. He also refereed Sunderland once in the Championship last season.
Arsenal sit top of the league and will be looking to tighten their grip, even though they are guaranteed to lead at the November international break. Sunderland will be hoping to close the gao, sitting fourth after a fantastic return to the Premier League.
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Craig Pawson’s Sunderland record
Pawson has overseen 15 Sunderland games during his career, though a lot of them came around 10 years ago. That was during the Black Cats’ last run in the Premier League. Between their relegation and return, Pawson refereed just four Sunderland games — two in the Championship, one in League One and one in the FA Cup. He was the man in the middle for their derby against Newcastle United in the 2023-24 FA Cup third round.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 15 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Defeats | 10 |
| League points | 9 |
| Penalties per game | 0.07 |
| Yellow cards per game | 2.2 |
| Red cards per game | 0.13 |
What happened when Craig Pawson last refereed Sunderland?
Pawson’s last Sunderland game was a 2-1 win for the Black Cats against Stoke City in the Championship last season. And it wasn’t eventful at all. Pawson awarded just 14 fouls, with five going against Sunderland. But he didn’t dish out a single card to either side.
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Craig Pawson’s Arsenal record
Pawson has refereed Arsenal a fair few times in his career, with this set to be game 34. His first Arsenal game came back in the 2014-15 season, a 3-0 win for the Gunners over Burnley. Pawson took charge of just two Arsenal games last season, and Mikel Arteta’s men didn’t win either. They were a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United and goalless draw with Everton, both at the Emirates. That ended a run of nine straight league wins for Arsenal with Pawson as referee.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 33 |
| Wins | 18 |
| Draws | 4 |
| Defeats | 11 |
| League points | 55 |
| Penalties per game | 0.15 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.58 |
| Red cards per game | 0.09 |
What happened when Craig Pawson last refereed Arsenal?
Arsenal fans may not want to see Pawson right now. He was the man in the middle for their 1-0 home defeat to West Ham last season, which they also ended with 10 men. Myles Lewis-Skelly was the man sent off for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. But Pawson had only initially awarded a yellow, with the card being upgraded to red after a VAR review.
What should we expect from Craig Pawson?
Pawson has been very lenient in the Premier League this season. He’s averaged just 2.1 cards per game, the lowest in the Premier League. He also averages 10.6 fouls per card, the most of any Premier League referee. But he has still awarded two penalties.