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Premier League referee fit to return for Man Utd clash after missing first games
Manchester United are looking to recover from a mixed start to the Premier League season when they host Brighton on Saturday, with a familiar face a member of the refereeing team
Referee Chris Kavanagh will return to Premier League action for the first time since May after finally passing the rigorous fitness tests that top-flight officials have to take.
Kavanagh has missed all four of the opening games of the season, but has now been made the Video Assistant Referee for Manchester United’s clash with Brighton. The Red Devils host the Seagulls at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, looking to recover from a mixed start to the year.
All referees have to pass a string of strict fitness tests before being handed appointments by PGMOL chief Howard Webb. They involve four 40-metre sprints which have to be completed in 5.95 seconds or less and an interval test which has to be completed in less than 15 seconds.
According to the Daily Mail, Kavanagh only passed those tests at the end of August. He as forced to sit out the opening four rounds of the new season, even from VAR duty, until he was deemed fit enough.
His first taste of action came on Saturday when he took charge of MK Dons’ 1-1 draw with Notts County in League Two. He will now be on hand to help referee Jarred Gillet from the VAR room.
Kavanagh will be well known to United fans following his performance in the Red Devils’ FA Cup win over Fulham last season. The referee infuriated the Cottagers with a number of his decisions.
Chris Kavanagh will be the VAR for Manchester United’s clash with Brighton (
Image:
Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)
The first controversy came when he showed a red card to Willian after adjudging the winger to have handballed Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot. He then sent off Aleksandar Mitrovic for pushing him while protesting that decision.
United were later charged with falling to control their players in the lead up to the penalty call. But it was Fulham boss Marco Silva who was left the angriest and he took aim at Kavanagh after his side’s defeat.
“Our story with Chris Kavanagh has been really tough for us as a football club. Before the match, we didn’t mention anything to the player. It’s the quarter-final of the FA Cup, let’s do our best to play the semi-finals of the FA Cup,” he said.
“It was really our goal. We showed that during the 75 minutes. But they know who is the referee. “They know the West Ham game away from home. When we lost the game with two handball goals. Clear handball goals. It was Chris Kavanagh in that moment.
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“This afternoon everyone saw what happened in this game. It’s difficult for them to look for these type of things. We cannot waste time in that situation. I didn’t speak with him. I want them with full focus in the game. It was a tough moment.”
Mitrovic was later handed an eight-match ban for his push on Kavanagh. That was not his last game with United though, with Kavanagh the man in the middle for the win over Bournemouth at the end of May.
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