Premier League make Newcastle United official decision after Everton controversy & Nottingham Forest fine

The Premier League match officials have been confirmed for Newcastle United’s trip to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday, April 24 (8pm kick-off).

Tom Bramall will referee the match in South London The Magpies look to secure a third successive league win. The match was rearranged to midweek as a result of Newcastle reaching the quarter-final of the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City.

The last time Newcastle claimed a third successive league win was back in September as they beat Burnley 2-0 with Bramall also referee for that match. He has since officiated United’s 4-4 draw with Luton Town back in February at St James’ Park, awarding penalties in both matches.

This will be Bramall’s first match refereeing Newcastle as the away side. Eddie Howe’s team head into the match on the back of an impressive 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park having beaten Fulham 1-0 away the week prior.

Bramall has been subject to some criticism after stepping up into the Premier League. In 2022, former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was fined £8,000 for comments about the referee following a defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“We know the referee well from last season,” Cooper said. “We had him in the Championship.

“We know the differences of what you can get with him. So we knew that was part of what we had to deal with today.”

This season, Bramall was criticised by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after his decision to send off Alexis Mac Allister during a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth back in August.

"I understand 100% how it looks for a ref in that moment, but when you see it back, it is the inside of the foot and no power behind it," Klopp said at the time. "It is not ruthless, it is just a mis-hit of the ball and then a slight hit to the shin of the other player.

"We saw harsher challenges which were not a red card, and this shouldn't have been. I don't know exactly what we have to do, but we should talk about it again."

Bramall will be assisted by Tim Wood and Steve Meredith with Tim Robinson as fourth official. Chris Kavanagh will be the VAR for the match, assisted by Mark Scholes.

VAR Kavanagh was involved in one of the most controversial VAR incidents at Selhurst Park this season after reviewing a challenge from Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the FA Cup and showing him a straight red card.

The Football Association later overturned the decision following an appeal by Everton.