Stuart Attwell has been confirmed as the match referee for Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie between County and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
A Premier League referee for the last eight seasons, he has refereed County on four previous occasions; last doing so in October 2010 in our 3-3 draw with Crewe Alexandra at Edgeley Park. He was also the referee at Wembley back in 2008, for our League Two Play-Off final victory over Rochdale.
The official last refereed Palace in April 2024, overseeing the Eagles’ 1-1 draw away at Fulham in the Premier League.
That was one of 25 games the experienced ref covered over the course of last season, which consisted of 22 domestic games, a Champions League and Europa Conference League qualifier, and an international friendly between Australia and New Zealand. In that time, he issued a total of 100 yellow cards, five red cards and awarded a total of five penalties.
Attwell made history in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night when becoming the first referee to make an in-stadium VAR announcement, disallowing Dominic Solanke’s goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool. That semi-final is one of 16 games he has overseen so far this season, the majority of which have come in the Premier League, and in that time he has so far shown 60 yellows, two reds and awarded two penalty kicks.
The Assistant Referees at Selhurst Park will be Constantine Hatzidakis and Natalie Aspinall, whilst Sam Purkiss will be the Fourth Official. VAR will not be in use for this game, however goal-line technology will be in place.
