Stuart Attwell set to Referee Arsenal vs Man City, two years after Newcastle controversy

English referee Stuart Attwell will be taking charge of an Arsenal game for the first time in two years this weekend. The Gunners are set to do battle with an in-form Manchester City side at the Emirates Stadium. Both sides will be coming off the back of midweek victories in the Champions League, renewing a burgeoning rivalry between two of England’s biggest clubs. The meetings between the two clubs have been fiercely contested in recent times and given what happened the last time he officiated an Arsenal game, referee Stuart Attwell will, presumably, dread this encounter.

The Newcastle Controversy

The last time he officiated an Arsenal game, there was controversy surrounding The Gunners’ clash against Newcastle on the 4th of November 2023. Perhaps it is for a good reason why he has yet to officiate an Arsenal game since then. The game against Newcastle was the scene of one of Arsenal’s biggest injustices in recent history (in my opinion). For those who don’t remember, there were multiple controversial incidents that went against Arsenal at St James’ Park that day. The biggest was no doubt Anthony Gordon’s winning goal in the second half. The goal stood despite three different reasons to potentially rule it out – whether the ball had gone out of play, a potential on Gabriel in the build-up and a potential offside in the build-up as well. Mikel Arteta labelled the decision a ‘disgrace’ and an embarrassment following the encounter, while Arsenal backed the Spaniard with a subsequent club statement. He was charged by the FA for his troubles, though the charges were dismissed a month later. Other incidents in the encounter included a very blatant red card to Bruno Guimaraes that wasn’t given among others.

Attwell Back for a Blockbuster

Stuart Attwell was the presiding referee that day and even though the VAR didn’t help his cause, media attention was almost solely on the ref following the game. After two years however, perhaps it has been long enough, hence his appointment for the blockbuster class on Sunday!

Thoughts about the appointment?

PS: I don’t think there’s a PGMOL agenda against Arsenal Read More