- Craig Pawson, the referee in charge of Arsenal against Manchester United, is not allowed to play games involving two teams
- Pawson was in charge at the Emirates Stadium as Michael Carrick’s side stunned the hosts just days after beating Manchester City
- Pawson was involved in controversial decisions, most notably the penalty he refused to give Arsenal for Harry Maguire’s handball
The referee who oversaw Arsenal’s game against Manchester United Sunday evening, Craig Pawson, has been banned from playing games involving two teams.
Source: Getty Images
Pawson was tasked with maintaining law and order as their old rivals went head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium in a thrilling Premier League game.
Manchester United emerged victorious, surprising the leaders of the league with 3-2 goals thanks to the winning goal in the 87th minute from Matheus Cunha.
The game caused a little controversy, while the fans of Arsenal believing that some decisions should go as they wanted.
Harry Maguire blocked Mikel Merino’s shot with his hand, but Pawson ignored appeals for a penalty. Patrick Dorgu scored a surprising goal after the ball touched him a little, but the goal was ruled out.
He issued two yellow cards in that game, both to Arsenal players Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze.
Which clubs can Craig Pawson not play for?
The 46-year-old has been banned from playing games involving Sheffield United due to the established protocols that referees use.
To avoid conflict of interest, referees are often required to declare their allegiance to avoid any problems.
“We have to declare if we have allegiance to any club or if a family member works for the club. You can’t play any match involving that team, and I can’t play at Sunderland either, for obvious reasons,” revealed veteran referee Michael Oliver in an earlier interview with the Daily Mail.
Oliver is a self-confessed Newcastle United fan.
As the Mirror reports, Pawson was born in Sheffield and has connections to Sheffield United and as such, is often excused from taking charge of their games.
Source: Twitter
In addition, he is also unable to play Sheffield Wednesday matches because the two clubs share a rivalry with Steel City.
Both clubs are currently in the Championship. United are in 17th place while Wednesday are looking at relegation to League One after dropping 18 points.
When did Craig Pawson start playing matches?
Pawson was promoted to the Premier League in 2013, and since then, has overseen a Championship play-off final, an FA Cup semi-final and a handful of Champions League and Europa League appearances.
Why wasn’t Maguire punished
Arsenal’s penalty appeals were shot down despite Maguire clearly blocking the ball with his hand in the second half.
The England international was on his way down when the ball hit his hand inside the penalty area.
According to the rules of football, players should not be penalized if the ball hits the hand they are using to support the body on the ground or break a fall.
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