EFL make official decision ahead of Millwall vs Sunderland

The EFL have confirmed that John Busby will be the referee for Sunderland’s clash against Millwall this weekend at The Den. The Black Cats make the trip down to London as they look to keep their impressive start to the Championship season going.

Regis Le Bris’ side are top of the table along with Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United as they look to be in the mix for promotion to the Premier League. They drew 2-2 at home with managerless Coventry City last time out before the international break and will be eager to return to winning ways against the Lions on Saturday afternoon.

Busby has overseen 11 Football League games so far in this campaign, 10 of which have been in the second tier. His assistant referees will be Mark Russell and Robert Hyde, whilst Paul Howard is the fourth official.

Sunderland boss Le Bris was frustrated with his team after their draw with Coventry in their last outing as they weren’t able to get three points. He said afterwards: “Our strength, qualities at home, in possession, we created many opportunities to score, with two fantastic goals. Probably, in the first half, our out of possession wasn't great. We tried to solve these problems.

“We have strength and we have to build on that. It is a question of consistency, weakness, commitment and the players need to know what to do when they are struggling against a team like Coventry."

Sunderland’s upcoming opponents

Sunderland’s upcoming opponents Millwall have done well so far this term. Neil Harris’ side are positioned in 8th and are two points off the play-offs and are one of the in-form teams in the division right now.

The Lions have 23 points on the board from their first 15 fixtures and have lost only four times. They are unbeaten in their last seven games, conceding only twice, and they are proving to be a tough nut to crack at the back.

They drew 1-1 away at Stoke City in their last clash and Harris said afterwards: “It’s not just the point today, it is the seven points in the week. That’s massive for us, and I’m sure Stoke, in their own right, will be delighted with their week as well, as it is very difficult in Championship.

“I’ve been very careful what to say before this game, because I didn’t want it to affect the football club and my players, but we finished last Sunday at 5:15pm against Burnley and this is our third game in this six days, it’s bonkers. We are put in these sort of situations, so just huge credit to my players for the battling performance and some really good chances were created.”

Harris was appointed by Millwall in February and returned for a second spell, having previously been with them from 2015 to 2019. He has since won 15 of his first 30 matches since his return. The 47-year-old has also worked at Cardiff City, Gillingham and Cambridge United in the past.