Burnley head back on the road this weekend with a trip down to the capital to face Fulham, looking to get back to winning ways…
Scott Parker’s side are desperately in need of three points to give their admittedly slim survival hopes a boost.
The Clarets remain nine points adrift of safety with only eight games remaining, leaving them in last chance saloon territory following a dismal run of one win in 21 league games.
They face a Fulham side that are in with a shot of European qualification, sitting 11th but only three points adrift of seventh.
Who is the referee for Fulham v Burnley?
Chris Kavanagh, of Greater Manchester.
He’s overseen 37 games so far this season, dishing out 144 yellow cards and four reds.
Twenty-two of those fixtures have come in the Premier League, 10 in Europe, four in cup competitions and the Community Shield between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at the start of the season.
Kavanagh made headlines last month when he was stood down from a round of Premier League fixtures after making a series of high-profile errors during the FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
With VAR not in use during the fourth round clash, Kavanagh failed to award the Magpies a penalty despite Lucas Digne clearly handling inside the area, instead awarding a free-kick outside the box.
Wayne Rooney described the handball as ‘one of the worst decisions he’s ever seen’.
A high tackle from Digne on Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy was also not adjudged to be reckless.
Asked whether referees were hiding behind VAR, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said: “There’s an argument to say that, because when VAR is there, there’s always a: ‘well, I won’t give that, but let’s check it.’
“I think then your decision-making maybe isn’t as sharp as it may normally have to be.”
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel also concurred Kavanagh ought to have awarded Brighton a penalty during their recent 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Seagulls midfielder Mats Wieffer was hauled to the ground by Gabriel Martinelli, but Kavanagh allowed play to continue and VAR didn’t intervene.
But the KMI Panel voted 4:1 that a spot-kick should have been awarded on the field and 3:2 that it was a missed VAR intervention.
What history does he have with Burnley?
Kavanagh took charge of Burnley’s 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal earlier this season as well as the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, where Armando Broja scored a dramatic late equaliser to end the Clarets’ seven-game losing run.
Prior to this season, Kavanagh was the man who sent Oli McBurnie off during Burnley’s 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United in December 2023.
Who is on VAR duty?
Nick Hopton, assisted by Tony Harrington.
Dan Cook and Ian Hussin will run the line, while Craig Pawson is fourth official.
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