The final day of the Premier League season is upon us, with the title, top four and final relegation place still to be decided.
In what promises to be an enthralling day of football – with every game kicking off at the same time for the first and only time this year – the referees will be under pressure to manage 10 games dripping with the sky-high pressure of the last chance saloon.
At the top of the table, league leaders Manchester City host Aston Villa. A point clear and up against a side managed by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, the stakes could not be higher as Pep Guardiola’s men look to scatter their title rivals’ quadruple hopes.
Michael Oliver will be the man in the middle at the Etihad – and he and Pep have history. In November 2019, Guardiola insisted he was not being sarcastic when he walked onto the pitch after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield and told Oliver ‘thank you so much’. City had been denied two penalties for handball, the first of which saw Liverpool run down the other end and take the lead through Fabinho.
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Speaking of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp’s men are at home to Wolves in a tie officiated by Anthony Taylor. He, like Oliver, is one of only two English referees chosen to referee matches in December’s Qatar World Cup.
That pedigree has not been enough to prevent Liverpool fans drawing attention to his birth in Manchester, however. The truth is that Taylor supports National League side Altrincham, not City or United.
Indeed, in April’s 2-2 draw between City and Liverpool refereed by Taylor, the Reds were arguably the luckier of the two sides – as Fabinho and Thiago could both have been sent off in the second half.
Elsewhere, north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are separated by just two points in the battle for fourth, and their games at home to Everton and away at Norwich City are being refereed by Andre Marriner and Chris Kavanagh.
Burnley and Leeds United – both on 35 points – are the two teams battling to avoid the relegation that comes with finishing 18th. Craig Pawson is the man in the middle as the Clarets host Eddie Howe’s resurgent Newcastle United, while Paul Tierney takes charge at Brentford versus Leeds.
Premier League final day referees in full
- Arsenal vs Everton – Andre Marriner
- Brentford vs Leeds – Paul Tierney
- Brighton vs West Ham – Kevin Friend
- Burnley vs Newcastle – Craig Pawson
- Chelsea vs Watford – Mike Dean
- Crystal Palace vs Manchester United – Martin Atkinson
- Leicester City vs Southampton – Jonathan Moss
- Liverpool vs Wolves – Anthony Taylor
- Manchester City vs Aston Villa – Michael Oliver
- Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur – Chris Kavanagh
Sunday also sees three long-serving referees make their swansongs.
Martin Atkinson, 51, has officiated a remarkable 362 Premier League games since his first in 2005. He takes to the field for the final time at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace host Manchester United.
Just north of the river, the headline-grabbing 53-year-old Mike Dean is refereeing Chelsea versus Watford in his final Premier League game with six more games under his belt than Atkinson – totalling 368.
Jonathan Moss, also 51, is the third to bow out, doing so at Leicester in their clash with Southampton after 274 Premier League appearances.
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