Gary O’Neil is meticulously preparing for Wolves clash against Manchester City on Sunday and the officials have been named for the fixture.
Wolves don’t have much to shout about at the moment. They’re bottom of the Premier League on one point from seven games and host the champions next.
Last season, Gary O’Neil masterminded a 2-1 win over Man City at Molineux as he tactically outsmarted Pep Guardiola with his three-man defence.
Heading into this fixture, O’Neil does have some squad troubles, with Hwang Hee-chan the latest to suffer an injury while on international duty.
Goncalo Guedes may now have to step up for Wolves, who have discovered which officials will be taking charge of the contest.
Stuart Attwell is on VAR for Wolves vs Man City
Chris Kavanagh has been named as the referee for this match while Stuart Attwell is on VAR duty.
Kavanagh has taken charge of 17 Wolves matches, with the Wanderers securing eight wins and seeing 35 yellow cards dished out in those fixtures.
As for the appointment of Attwell, there is some controversy surrounding him, particularly from a Wolves perspective.
The 42-year-old was on VAR for Wolves clash against Nottingham Forest last season. It ended in a 1-1 draw but the Old Gold should have won the match as Hwang Hee-chan’s goal was ruled out after VAR intervened.
Attwell was called to the monitor to investigate a foul that occurred in the build-up, as Matheus Cunha was seen with a high arm which eventually saw the referee disallow the goal.
That perhaps went down as one mistake he made while operating VAR, in fact, he made the joint-most errors of any Premier League referee last season – tied with Paul Tierney (4), as per ESPN.
Wolves worst VAR decisions in 2023/24
Attwell’s appointment perhaps won’t fill many supporters with confidence as they head to Molineux on Sunday, with Wolves needing everything on their side to stand any chance of winning.
When looking at some of the worst VAR decisions to go against Wolves, there are plenty to choose from, including the decision to rule out Max Kilman’s header against West Ham.
Another call that left fans baffled was the decision to keep Carlos Vinicius on the pitch after footage showed the Brazilian headbutting Kilman.
Wolves were punished for their actions post-game as they deemed Vinicius’ header ‘too soft’ but that was just one of many decisions to go against them in 2023/24.
Finally, and perhaps one of the worst they experienced, was on the opening day of last season when Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic without getting the ball.
It was dangerous play from the Cameroon international but despite VAR checking the incident, they deemed the on-field decision to not award a penalty as correct, sparking mass outrage from Wolves and costing them a point.