A look at the man in the middle tomorrow night
STUART ATTWELL will be the man in the middle for City’s eagerly-anticipated Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie against Liverpool on Friday evening.Exeter City fans will remember Attwell from their last match against Premier League opposition; the Warwickshire-based official took charge of the 6-3 defeat at Sunderland in the Capital One Cup Second Round in August.
Prior to the clash at the Stadium of Light, Attwell had overseen five City games, the first of which was a 2-2 draw at Grimsby in February 2009. After that, the Grecians won three and lost one of the league games Attwell refereed them in, with the most notable victory the 3-1 success at Plainmoor against Torquay in December 2013.
This season, Attwell has taken charge of 24 games across all four divisions and both cup competitions, showing seventy yellow cards and three reds, including one to Everton’s Kevin Mirallas in their 0-0 draw with Swansea City in September.
Any City fans looking for positive cup omens will be pleased to learn that Attwell was in charge when MK Dons beat Manchester United 4-0 in last season’s Capital One Cup.
Match Officials:
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
Assistant Referees: John Brooks (Leicestershire) and Dave Bryan (Lincolnshire)
Fourth Official: Tim Robinson (West Sussex)