Manchester City have learned which referee will be calling the shots during their Saturday night clash with Newcastle and it is a man who caused controversy earlier this season.
This weekend will see Manchester City take on Newcastle United for a fifth time this season, as the pair meet in the FA Cup fifth round.
Pep Guardiola’s team will be hoping that there are no disputable refereeing decisions to discuss after two incidents in midweek which went in Nottingham Forest’s favour.
Erling Haaland was denied a penalty after a possible foul by Matz Sels and in that same game, Rodri was refused a spot kick following contact with Elliot Anderson.
Manchester City’s FA Cup tie will be refereed by Sam Barrott
Unfortunately for Man City, Sam Barrott has been named as the referee to oversee their upcoming game against Newcastle.
The official was also in charge of City’s Premier League clash with Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier in the season, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the visitors.
This match was particularly controversial, as Barrott failed to award Man City a penalty after a sliding challenge from Fabian Schar on Phil Foden.
However, he did also referee Man City’s Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford, so perhaps his presence this Saturday will not be an issue.
Man City must be ready for decisions not to go their way
Pep Guardiola called on Man City to be better, so the decision-making of referees did not affect them. Instead, they must be good enough to win regardless of what happens.
This has to be the message going into this Saturday, with City needing to focus on how to improve after a difficult night on Wednesday.
Lose to Newcastle and any chance of winning the FA Cup is gone, so a big performance will be needed in the north east.
