Farai Hallam to referee Ipswich Town v Sunderland as officials confirmed | OneFootball

The Premier League confirmed Farai Hallam will take charge of Sunderland’s Premier League opener at newly promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Regis Le Bris’ men start a season of high anticipation, after a remarkable year last time out. Thoughts of their Europa League campaign are put to one side as they seek an opening-day win against a much-changed Ipswich under Gary O’Neil. Sunderland have made just one addition, while several home players are set for competitive debuts.

Hallam, a former Stevenage youth player, made his first Premier League appearance earlier this year, overseeing Manchester City’s 2-0 home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He has since taken charge of a further four top-flight fixtures.

He has refereed Sunderland twice, both ending in 1-0 home defeats to Swansea City and Hull City during the second half of the 2024/25 Championship season. Ipswich also lost their first two fixtures with him in the middle, before a 5-0 home win over Sheffield United in his most recent Portman Road assignment in September last year.

Adrian Holmes and Simon Long will run the lines. Andy Madley is fourth official and Nick Hopton is on VAR duty, with Wade Smith as assistant VAR.

Source: Sunderland Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”