Craig
Pawson, an English referee from Sheffield and with notable experience in the Premier League, will be in charge of handing out justice on Thursday in the match between Real Sociedad and Napoli. His 162 matches called in the Premier League and the 416 officials in his career show that he is an experienced referee. He has been a FIFA referee since 2015, although to date he has only directed one event in the Champions League and 11 in the Europa League. His assistants will be also British Hussin Y Hatzidakis in the bands and Madley as fourth official.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agNutq6vdLk [/ embed] data-youtube-vid>
Pawson left a curious image a month ago, which immediately went viral, since he seemed to regret a failed opportunity to Lacazette against Liverpool. When the 'reds' won 2-1, the French forward faced Alisson, but his shot was well covered by the goalkeeper. This provoked a curious reaction in the referee: he looked at the sky, clenched his fists and gave a little jump that seemed to ooze frustration. Obviously this image gave a lot to talk about on the island.
He whistled Betis and
Villarreal
So far, he has never refereed any Real Sociedad or Naples game, although he has refereed two La Liga teams in the Europa League group stage, both settled with a draw: he whistled a Betis 1-Milan 1 in the 2018 campaign / 19 and a Maccabi 0-Villarreal 0 in 2017/18.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5zzM5jEIk [/ embed] data-youtube-vid>