Arsenal and Manchester United face off in the Premier League on Sunday at 4:30pm, with Craig Pawson set to referee.
Despite being one of the most-recognisable names in the current crop of Premier League referees, Pawson has overseen 12 games so far. While that’s still quite a lot, he isn’t in the group of the most-used officials.
Pawson has refereed both Arsenal and Man Utd in the Premier League this season. But this will be his first “big” match. In fact, it’s his first big match since showing 10 yellow cards in a heated game between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in April. He has overseen this fixture three times, so far.
Arsenal are seven points clear at the top of the table, with Man Utd a point outside the top four.
Jump to:
Craig Pawson’s Arsenal record
Pawson has refereed Arsenal 34 times during his career so far, with the large majority of those games coming in the Premier League. The Gunners are winless in their past three games with Pawson in the middle, losing one and drawing two. The sole defeat also saw Arsenal reduced to 10 men after a VAR review. Pawson has awarded Arsenal five penalties, while also giving three against them.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 34 |
| Wins | 18 |
| Draws | 5 |
| Defeats | 11 |
| League points | 56 |
| Penalties per game | 0.15 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.56 |
| Red cards per game | 0.09 |
What happened when Craig Pawson last refereed Arsenal?
Pawson’s previous Arsenal game this season wasn’t an eventful one. He showed just three yellow cards, all for fouls, with one going to Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi. That was despite awarding 26 fouls, with 13 apiece.
SBK betting offer: Bet £10, get £40 in free bets
Eligible readers* interested in this SBK betting offer can follow THIS LINK or click the image below.
New UK customers only. Min £10 first deposit using Debit Card or Bank Transfer. Place a bet of £10 at min odds of 2.0 and get a £10 Football Bet Builder token upon settlement. A £10 Multiple token, a £5 Horse Racing Multiple token and a £5 Football Bet Builder token will be credited after 24 hours. A further £10 Free Bet token will be credited 48 hours after the qualifying bet has been settled. Full T&Cs apply, 18+. GambleAware.org.
Craig Pawson’s Man Utd record
This will be Pawson’s 41st Man Utd game as a referee, officiating just two teams more. He’s yet to send off a Man Utd player too, the most he has refereed a team without showing a red card. Pawson has only sent off one opposition player too, so it’s not that he overly favours Man Utd. But Man Utd have lost their past three games with Pawson in the middle.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 40 |
| Wins | 20 |
| Draws | 9 |
| Defeats | 11 |
| League points | 51 |
| Penalties per game | 0.08 |
| Yellow cards per game | 2.08 |
| Red cards per game | 0 |
What happened when Craig Pawson last refereed Man Utd?
There was a bit of controversy in Pawson’s previous Man Utd game this season. The Red Devils were beaten 3-1 by Brentford and were awarded a second-half penalty to equalise. Bruno Fernandes missed, but Man Utd wanted Brentford reduced to 10 men. Bryan Mbeumo was brought down in the box by Nathan Collins, who had made no attempt to win the ball. So he wasn’t protected by the double jeopardy rule. Pawson only deemed it worthy of a yellow, with VAR agreeing.
What should we expect from Craig Pawson?
Pawson is the most lenient referee in the Premier League this season. He has averaged just 2.0 cards per game, showing 23 yellows and one red. He also averages 10.1 fouls per card. So this game could be allowed to flow, which is what everyone wants to see in a big match.