Why Chris Kavanagh could referee Liverpool vs Man City even though he was born in Greater Manchester
Chris Kavanagh was allowed to referee Sunday’s Premier League game between Liverpool and Manchester City because he supports non-league team Droylsden, so there was no conflict of interest.
It was a busy afternoon for Kavanagh, who faced a lot of criticism from fans and experts like Andoni Iraola and Jamie Carragher after sending off Ryan Gravenberch. Iraola said he didn’t understand why Kavanagh gave Gravenberch a yellow card for what seemed like a harmless challenge on Elliot Anderson. “The first one is not a yellow,” he said after the match. Then, Gravenberch got a second yellow for fouling Jeremy Doku, a decision that changed the game quickly. Just three minutes later, Erling Haaland scored, and then goals from Doku and Rayan Cherki made it 3-0.
After the red card, some Liverpool fans criticized Kavanagh, pointing out he was born in Greater Manchester. But at 41 years old, Kavanagh was cleared to referee the game because he is a fan of Droylsden FC, a team in the North West Counties League Premier Division.
Referees and video assistants can only manage games that don’t involve teams they have connections with. They have to fill out a form each season declaring the club they support. The rules also say officials can’t be part of matches involving a club that is strongly linked to the one they support. It’s up to the PGMOL to decide what counts as a strong connection, and they decided Kavanagh’s support for Droylsden didn’t cause any conflict ahead of the Liverpool vs. City match.
One of the biggest talking points from the game at Anfield was Kavanagh’s decision to give Gravenberch a second yellow card. After the match, Sky Sports expert Jamie Carragher called the decision “shocking.”
“It’s such a poor decision by the referee,” Carragher said. “What frustrates me is that he wasn’t going to give a yellow at first. He only gave it because he thought Anderson was hurt.”
Carragher added, “That doesn’t matter for whether it should be a yellow or not. It was barely a foul. It’s a shocking call.”