Andoni Iraola is set to take charge of a competitive Liverpool match at Anfield for the very first time. The Reds will welcome Nottingham Forest to Merseyside on Saturday, seeking a first victory of the season, following last Sunday's end-to-end 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Oliver Glasner's team will arrive having so far been beaten 1-0 by Leeds at the City Ground and then... 2-0 by Leeds at the City Ground, the latter in the EFL Cup on Tuesday. Ahead of the match, Pro Ref, formerly known as PGMOL, have confirmed the identity of the officials taking charge of the match, so should Kopites be pleased or concerned?
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest: Refereeing team
- Referee: Sam Barrott.
- Assistant referees: Adam Nunn & Wade Smith.
- Fourth official: Tim Robinson.
- Video assistant referee: Michael Oliver.
- Assistant video assistant referee: James Mainwaring.
Sam Barrott will be the man in the middle at Anfield on Saturday. The 33 year old has been apart of the Select Group of referees since August 2024, becoming FIFA listed the following year. So far this season, he has taken charge of the FA Community Shield in Cardiff and three UEFA competition qualifiers, travelling to Dublin, Enschede and most-recently Klaksvík in the Faroe Islands.
During these four matches, Barrott has brandished 14 yellow cards and no reds. Last season, across 33 games, he produced 118 yellow cards, an average of 3.58 per match, and just one red, sending off Sunderland's Reinildo Mandava against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light last September. So, what about when he has previously been in charge of Liverpool?
Sam Barrott previous Liverpool matches as referee
- 2 April 2025: Liverpool 1-0 Everton: 4 yellow cards - Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez booked.
- 9 February 2025: Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Liverpool: 6 yellow cards - Isaac Mabaya and Trey Nyoni booked.
- 22 December 2024: Tottenham Hotspur 3-6 Liverpool: 3 yellow cards - Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo booked.
- 24 November 2024: Southampton 2-3 Liverpool: 7 yellow cards - Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konaté, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah booked.
- 28 January 2024: Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: No yellow cards,
Across Barrott's five previous Liverpool matches, the Reds have won four, the sole exception the shock FA Cup defeat Arne Slot's side suffered at Home Park against Plymouth Argyle. Oddly, he did not take charge of Liverpool at any point last season, having done so four times the year before.
He is not a particularly card happy referee, which is usually a good quality for an official to have, and fans of both sides will be hoping Barrott is not the talking point come full time on Saturday.
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