PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

Update, March 1: The referee for the Capital One Cup final on Sunday, March 2 between Manchester City and Sunderland is Martin Atkinson.

It’s a Cup week, with the Capital One Cup semifinals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Cups are always exciting, because we get to see some new faces along with the Select Group regulars.

Of note: Mike Jones is back in the saddle for the first time since his disaster at Newcastle: He’ll be fourth official at West Ham v. Manchester City in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, and then referee at Wigan Athletic v. Crystal Palace on Saturday.

However, two of the biggest names in English refereeing are missing: Howard Webb and Mark Clattenburg. This could be a bad sign that the as-of-yet unnamed injury that kept Clattenburg out last weekend is more than just a hangover (a popular theory).

As for Webb, I’d wager we’ll see less and less of him as the World Cup approaches. There will be three FIFA seminars he’ll need to attend (in February, March/April, and right before the Cup) and the FA won’t want to see him injured. He’s also back to being a police officer, so he’s a busy guy.

Lots of games, so it’s a bit of a long list…

CAPITAL ONE CUP SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, January 21
West Ham United v Manchester City
Referee: Foy, Christopher
Assistant Referee: Kirkup, Peter
Assistant Referee: Garratt, Andrew
Fourth Official: Jones, Michael

Wednesday, January 22
Manchester United v Sunderland
Referee: Mason, Lee
Assistant Referee: Collin, Jake
Assistant Referee: Long, Simon
Fourth Official: Dean, Michael

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

Friday, January 24
Arsenal v Coventry City
Referee: Madley, Robert
Assistant Referee: Mullarkey, Michael
Assistant Referee: Ledger, Scott
Fourth Official: Ward, Gavin

Nottingham Forest v Preston North End
Referee: Dean, Michael
Assistant Referee: Beswick, Gary
Assistant Referee: Fox, Andrew
Fourth Official: Young, Alan

Saturday, January 25
AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool
Referee: Probert, Lee
Assistant Referee: Child, Steve
Assistant Referee: Cann, Darren
Fourth Official: Scott, Graham

Birmingham City v Swansea City
Referee: Swarbrick, Neil
Assistant Referee: Beck, Simon
Assistant Referee: Merchant, Robert
Fourth Official: D’Urso, Andy

Bolton Wanderers v Cardiff City
Referee: Moss, Jonathan
Assistant Referee: Collin, Jake
Assistant Referee: Scholes, Mark
Fourth Official: Webb, David

Huddersfield Town v Oxford United/Charlton Athletic 
Referee: Attwell, Stuart
Assistant Referee: Copeland, Steven
Assistant Referee: Dicicco, Matthew
Fourth Official: Coy, Martin

Manchester City v Watford 
Referee: Friend, Kevin
Assistant Referee: Wilkes, Matthew
Assistant Referee: Holmes, Adrian
Fourth Official: Stockbridge, Sebastian

Port Vale v Brighton & Hove Albion
Referee: Tierney, Paul
Assistant Referee: Bristow, Matthew
Assistant Referee: Nield, Tom
Fourth Official: Evans, Karl

Rochdale AFC  v Sheffield Wednesday
Referee: Hooper, Simon
Assistant Referee: Hunt, Jonathan
Assistant Referee: Sharp, Neil
Fourth Official: Fearn, Amy

Southampton v Yeovil Town
Referee: Dowd, Philip
Assistant Referee: Burt, Stuart
Assistant Referee: Flynn, John
Fourth Official: Phillips, David

Southend United v Hull City
Referee: Mason, Lee
Assistant Referee: Lennard, Harry
Assistant Referee: Hatzidakis, Constantine
Fourth Official: Woolmer, Andy

Stevenage v Everton
Referee: Taylor, Anthony
Assistant Referee: England, Darren
Assistant Referee: Perry, Marc
Fourth Official: Pawson, Craig

Sunderland v Kidderminster Harriers 
Referee: East, Roger
Assistant Referee: Hussin, Ian
Assistant Referee: Halliday, Andrew
Fourth Official: Salisbury, Graham

Wigan Athletic v Crystal Palace
Referee: Jones, Michael
Assistant Referee: McDonough, Michael
Assistant Referee: Ganfield, Ronald
Fourth Official: Sutton, Gary

Sunday, January 26th
Chelsea v Stoke City 
Referee: Foy, Christopher
Assistant Referee: Long, Simon
Assistant Referee: Bryan, David
Fourth Official: Deadman, Darren

Sheffield United v Fulham
Referee: Marriner, Andre
Assistant Referee: Kirkup, Peter
Assistant Referee: Salisbury, Michael
Fourth Official: Adcock, James