EFL confirm official decision ahead of Sunderland vs Watford amid VAR quirk
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Premier League referee Robert Jones will take charge of Sunderland’s Championship clash with Watford on Saturday, the EFL have confirmed.
The Black Cats host the Hornets at the Stadium of Light in a lunchtime kick-off, and will be hoping to build on an impressive late win over Middlesbrough on Monday evening. That result was enough to ensure that Regis Le Bris’ men stay within touching distance of the automatic promotion places, but with Burnley beating Oxford United on Tuesday, Leeds United facing Coventry City on Wednesday, and Sheffield United hosting Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, a positive result against Watford will likely be needed to maintain pace with those around them.
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Hide AdSpeaking after Monday’s win at the Riverside, Le Bris said: "I think that Middlesbrough started very well, they played really good football. We expected this but when you are on the pitch, you have to manage the situation. They played very well in the first half and we conceded many situations, I think we were lucky not to concede a second goal.
“We stayed in the game but we were a little bit impatient, we knew they were good in possession with the ability to pin the central corridor and play out wide, in behind, through. Maybe we lost our patience in this period and were sloppy on the ball. Progressively, we got back into the game but not enough for this contest, this team.
"During half time we spoke about the character we needed, that we needed more passion and more confidence. The second half was very good, I think. It was an intense game against a strong game, away from home. We had to play with passion to find that extra percent. We knew that this would make the difference."
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Hide AdAnd heading into Saturday’s contest with Watford, the Black Cats have been informed of who the man in the middle will be. Jones has taken charge of 16 matches so far this season, with 14 in the Premier League, one in the Championship, and one in the Carabao Cup. Over the course of those outings, he has shown three red cards, all in the Premier League, and has handed out 74 yellow cards at an average rate of 4.24 per game. Jones’ assistants at the Stadium of Light will be Ian Hussin and Neil Davies, with Lewis Smith on fourth official duty.
The referee was also involved in an intriguing incident recently, during which he became the first official to ignore a VAR recommendation to reverse his decision and dish out a red card since video technology was introduced to the top flight. In a match between Chelsea and Bournemouth, David Brooks was adjudged to have obstructed Marc Cucurella by pulling his hair, and after Jones initially gave nothing, his video assistant recommended that he overturn his call and send the Cherries player off. Instead, however, Jones unexpectedly stood firm on his initial ruling.
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