On Air Now Late Night Love Songs 11:00pm - 1:00am
Now Playing The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody

First Europa League outing for Tameside referee

A referee who hails from Tameside will take charge of his first European group-stage match on Thursday evening.

Chris Kavanagh, who belongs to Manchester FA but is from Ashton, will be in the middle for Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven's Europa League Group D clash against Austrian side Linzer ASK. 

Kick-off at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven will be at 20:00 BST. 

He will be ably assisted by his regular Premier League colleagues - assistant referees Dan Cook and Sian Massey-Ellis, with Peter Bankes the fourth official. 

Given his growing reputation, Kavanagh will be observed and assessed by a vastly experienced former French official Stephane Lannoy, who officiated at the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship. 

The 34-year-old, who was promoted to the FIFA list of international officials back in January, handled a Europa League third qualifying round tie back in August, issuing seven yellow cards when Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor beat Serbian outfit Partizan Belgrade 1-0. 

Kavanagh, who has been officiating in England's top flight since April 2017, has officiated eight matches in all competitions so far this season - with the other seven coming in the Premier League. 

The Tameside-based official was in the spotlight last weekend when taking charge of Tottenham's 1-1 draw with Watford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, amid Video Assistant Referee (VAR) confusion. Read more about it here

More from Sport

  • Midweek football round-up: Bloods and Lilywhites ease through

    Both Droylsden and Mossley cruised into the FA Cup Preliminary Round on Tuesday with wins over Burscough and Silsden respectively.

  • FA Cup heartbreak for Hillmen

    It was FA Cup heartbreak for Glossop North End on Tuesday, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Tadcaster Albion in their Extra Preliminary Round replay. 

  • City Watch: Community Shield awaits

    After a pretty quiet start to pre-season, Manchester City have now finished the final two games of the summer with victories over the K-League All Stars and Atletico Madrid, giving Enzo Maresca a perfect winning record heading into his first competitive game in charge.

  • United View: Further signings still needed

    Last week, I said I was concerned regarding Manchester United’s lack of transfer activity, with the start of the Premier League season just around the corner. 

Weather

  • Fri

    25°C

  • Sat

    21°C

  • Sun

    21°C

  • Mon

    19°C

  • Tue

    18°C