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Who is the referee for Liverpool vs Man City?

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Cite

Ferridge, A. (2026, October 11). Who is the referee for Liverpool vs Man City? Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/who-is-the-referee-for-liverpool-fc-vs-man-city-b1300154.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-11 · by Arthur Ferridge

Quick Summary

The upcoming Liverpool versus Manchester City match will see referee Simon Kavanagh overseeing a potentially tense encounter at Anfield. This follows recent controversy as Man City was found guilty of financial misconduct and expects an unfriendly atmosphere from the home crowd. Assistant referees Dan Cook and Nick Greenhalgh, along with fourth official Andy Madley, will support Kavanagh, who officiated last season’s controversial match where Virgil van Dijk's goal was disallowed. Paul Howard will manage VAR operations during this Premier League fixture.
Written by AI on 2026-10-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The upcoming match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield is set to be officiated by referee Andy Kavanagh, who was also in charge when Manchester City won a controversial fixture against Liverpool last season. Assistant referees Dan Cook and Nick Greenhalgh, along with fourth official Andy Madley, will support Kavanagh, while Paul Howard oversees VAR. This match marks City’s first appearance since they were found guilty of gross financial misconduct by an independent commission. The verdict has sparked significant controversy, leading to a hostile reception expected for the visiting team at Anfield. Liverpool had lodged a formal complaint with the refereeing body over a disputed goal ruled out before halftime in last season's fixture, involving Virgil van Dijk's equalizer. Despite facing allegations and criticism, Manchester City continues to maintain their innocence and has filed an appeal against the guilty verdict.

Written for “Premier League Referee Assignment” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Premier League Referee Assignment
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles are discussing the referee assignment for an upcoming Liverpool vs Man City match but do not describe a single specific incident occurring at that match.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8526 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Arthur Ferridge
205 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He came off the bench in the second half to formalise his return to action but could not affect a comeback as Lisandro Martinez was sent off, leaving his team-mates fighting an uphill battle.
🔮 Whether he will win the title this season is more a question of ‘when’ than ‘if’.
🔮 He came off the bench in the second half to formalise his return to action but could not affect a comeback as Lisandro Martinez was sent off, leaving his team-mates fighting an uphill battle.
🔮 If you click links to other sites on this page, we will earn commission.
🔮 They will end this weekend in eighth place, six points adrift of leaders Middlesbrough.
🔮 Cole Palmer duly dispatched it to make it 2-0, though the margin of victory might have been much wider as Estevao saw a pair of goals ruled out for marginal offsides.
🔮 But the player himself has now suggested he will be with the squad on Merseyside.
🔮 Read More Asked what his instructions were on the day, he said: "To try to occupy defenders in whatever space it may be.
🔮 Cole Palmer’s penalty made it 2-0, but the scoreline could have been far more one-sided as Estevao saw a pair of goals ruled out for marginal offsides.
🔮 A third defeat in a row, which made it nine matches without a win in all competitions for the first time since 1988-89, brought the inevitable chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from home fans, but what will hurt most for United’s beleaguered manager will be the way he was let down yet again by senior players.
Also by Arthur Ferridge
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 205 articles by Arthur Ferridge →

Topics

City Liverpool Man City Manchester Sky Sports

Subjects

Kavanagh PERSON · 3× City ORG · 2× Liverpool ORG · 2× Man City ORG · 2× Sky Sports ORG · 2× Andy Madley PERSON · 1× Dan Cook PERSON · 1× Manchester GPE · 1× Nick Greenhalgh PERSON · 1× Paul Howard PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Virgil van Dijk saw an equaliser ruled out shortly before half-time, prompting Liverpool to lodge a formal complaint with the refereeing body then known as PGMOL.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-11
🔮 The match will be City’s first since they were found guilty of gross financial misconduct by an independent commission last week.
2026-10-11 · Evening Standard
Who is the referee for Liverpool vs Man City? · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

The match will be City’s first since they were found guilty of gross financial misconduct by an independent commission last week. asserted
they → find → commission
They are anticipating a hostile reception at Anfield, and the Manchester-born Kavanagh will be the man tasked with keeping things civil on-pitch. asserted
Kavanagh → anticipate → pitch
He will be joined by assistants Dan Cook and Nick Greenhalgh, with Andy Madley appointed as fourth official. asserted
Madley → join → official
Paul Howard will oversee VAR, assisted by Nick Hopton. asserted
Howard → oversee → Hopton
Kavanagh was also the centre referee as Man City won this fixture at the Etihad last season in controversial circumstances. asserted
City → win → circumstances
Virgil van Dijk saw an equaliser ruled out shortly before half-time, prompting Liverpool to lodge a formal complaint with the refereeing body then known as PGMOL. asserted
equaliser → see → PGMOL
Kavanagh and Greenhalgh were both stood down from duties in February of this year after a series of errors in an FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle. asserted
Kavanagh → stand → Villa
City continue to insist upon their innocence and have lodged an appeal against their guilty verdict. asserted
City → continue → verdict
Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, has called upon his players to shut out the noise and focus on their football. asserted
Maresca → call → football
In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with coverage starting at 4pm BST ahead of a 4.30pm kick-off. asserted
coverage → televise → off
Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app and website. asserted
subscribers → catch → app
You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog! asserted
You → follow → blog
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