Liverpool vs Man Utd referee: Andy Madley record & controversial incidents

If there is a fixture in English football where referee appointments are the most contentious, it is probably this one. Liverpool and Manchester United fans often joke that whichever referee is chosen is a supporter of the opposing team.

The most common complaint tends to come from Liverpool fans when Anthony Taylor is chosen, as he is from Manchester. The same complaint is made when he referees matches between Liverpool and Manchester City, though.

At 39 years old, Andy Madley is one of the younger refs in the game. Hailing from Huddersfield, there should be no geographic complaints. His Premier League debut came at the end of 2018, so he is relatively new on the scene but nonetheless established.

Here's his track record when it comes to Liverpool and Manchester United.

Andy Madley's record in Liverpool matches

Madley has been in charge of just nine Liverpool matches during his career and interestingly has refereed two penalty shootouts involving the Reds. The first was all the way back in 2015 against Carlisle in the League Cup.

Liverpool have never been beaten with Madley as the referee. They have won six games and drawn three, receiving eight yellow cards and no red cards. This could bode well for Jurgen Klopp's side on Sunday.

His most recent Liverpool game was the 2-2 draw in the FA Cup against Wolves, a game filled with controversy. Wolves were denied a late goal for offside, on which Julen Lopetegui said: "We have seen it, and the offside doesn't exist."

Ruben Neves added: "It's impossible, but someone has told him that it is offside. We have seen the image, and it doesn't exist."

Discounting the cup games that went to penalties, there have been 25 goals across seven games Madley has refereed involving Liverpool.

Andy Madley's record in Man Utd matches

Madley has only refereed five Manchester United matches in his career so far and the Red Devils have got a record of four wins and one defeat. Worryingly for United fans, he was in charge of the terrible 4-0 defeat away at Brighton at the end of the 2021/22 season under Ralf Rangnick.

In just five games, Madley has given United 11 yellow cards, more than Liverpool got in nine games of Madley's refereeing. The most card-heavy game of the lot was the Carabao Cup tie against Everton in the 2020/21 season.

There was an incident in that game involving Edinson Cavani which caused controversy. He was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Yerry Mina but there was no VAR in use until the semi-final stage of the competition. Many feel that had VAR been at play, he would have been sent off before making it 1-0 in the 88th minute.

Has Andy Madley ever refereed Liverpool vs Man Utd?

This will be the first time Madley has refereed a match between Liverpool and Manchester United, a fixture many view as the biggest in the Premier League in terms of ferocity and animosity between the two fan bases.

It will be a serious test for him and, providing it goes well, he will certainly feel he has made another step in his refereeing career at full time.

WATCH NOW

On this week's edition of TFP, Harry Symeou hosts Grizz Khan, Scott Saunders and Hunter Godson to preview the weekend's Premier League action, including Man Utd's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.

If you can't see this embed, click here to watch the video!