Sunderland vs Wolves: This is referee Robert Jones' previous Black Cats record
Sunderland take on Wolves this weekend with referee Robert Jones in charge.
Sunderland host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday as the Premier League returns from the international break.
The Black Cats lost 2-0 at Manchester United last time out, but it’s still been an excellent start to the season, with Regis Le Bris’ side sitting ninth with 11 points on the board from seven games. Expectations will be high this weekend, with Sunderland unbeaten at the Stadium of Light since returning to the Premier league - beating West Ham (3-0) and Brentford (2-1) before a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Robert Jones will take charge of this clash, with this the second time he’s refereed Sunderland this season already. What can we expect from the official?
When did Robert Jones last referee Sunderland?
Sunderland very much enjoyed their previous encounter with Jones, which came in the 3-0 win over West Ham that opened the new campaign and marked their triumphant return to the Premier League. Jones showed just one card throughout that entire game, with West Ham defender Max Kilman getting a yellow, while Sunderland only conceded eight fouls and the Hammers 10.
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Since then, Jones has officiated just three other Premier League matches: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (1x penalty, 2x yellow cards), Bournemouth 0-0 Newcastle (1x yellow card) and Manchester City 5-1 Burnley (3x yellow cards). His top-flight games this season have been routine, clean affairs, with his last sending off in any match coming back in February when he gave Axel Tuanzebe two yellow cards in Ipswich Town’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
It should be noted that Wolves have enjoyed a much better record under Jones, winning eight of 15 matches, including 1-0 away at Manchester United in April, the last time he took charge of one of their games - making it four wins in a row under his officiating.
Robert Jones’ Sunderland record
While Sunderland’s comfortable win over West Ham will live long in the memory, it is a rare high in games under Jones. The 38-year-old has taken charge of seven other Sunderland matches, with the Black Cats picking up just one win along the way.
That came in their first game officiated by Jones, when they beat Bury 1-0 away in the first round of the 2017/18 EFL Cup thanks to a George Honeyman strike assisted by Didier Ndong. After that, Sunderland lost against Barnsley, QPR, Fleetwood Town, Arsenal and Hull under Jones’ watchful eye, before a 2-2 draw at home to Watford last season.
Jones has shown a total of 15 yellow cards in Sunderland matches, while Jason Steele was sent off against QPR and Tom Dele-Bashiru of Watford scored the only penalty Jones has awarded during that time.
Sunderland results under referee Robert Jones
- 16/08/25: Sunderland 3-0 West Ham - Premier League
- 08/02/25: Sunderland 2-2 Watford - Championship
- 19/01/24: Sunderland 0-1 Hull - Championship
- 21/12/21: Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland - EFL Cup QFs
- 30/04/19: Fleetwood 2-1 Sunderland - League One
- 10/03/18: QPR 1-0 Sunderland - Championship
- 01/01/18: Sunderland 0-1 Barnsley - Championship
- 10/08/17: Bury 0-1 Sunderland - EFL Cup R1