Kevin Friend has been appointed to referee Cardiff’s City game against Fulham on Saturday 21st October, having already overseen the Bluebirds’ opening match against the Cherries all those weeks ago in the August rain.
The Bluebirds succumbed to an opening day two nil loss and Friend was to prove more foe, awarding Bournemouth a first half penalty for an apparent foul by Bruno Ecuele Manga on Callum Wilson. Replays were to show this was a harsh decision and was maybe even incorrect, so could this play a part on Saturday?
That game saw just two yellow cards issued and once again, as per last season, Friend is unlikely to issue a red card on Saturday, given he has not yet issued a single red card in the five Premier League games he has overseen this season. See below for an overview of his Premier League stats so far in the 2018-19 campaign:
- 5 games refereed
- 11 yellow cards issued (an average of 0.45 yellows per game)
- Zero red cards
- 3 penalties awarded
Whilst Friend is not known for sending players for an early bath, he did equally issue FIVE yellow cards in the last game he refereed; a feisty encounter between the normally benign Brighton and West Ham.
We can expect fireworks on the pitch this weekend, as two teams near the relegation trap door eye three points, but don’t expect too much of a show from our friend Kevin.