PGMO boss and former Premier League referee, Mike Riley, enforced the change, meaning Neil Swarbrick from Preston will now take charge of the game.
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Leicester now lead Spurs at the top of the table by seven points, but the Belgian worldwide still feels that the club are a force to be reckoned with and won’t give up their chase without a fight in an interview on the club’s official website.
The PGMOL have also deemed City well out of the title race despite the Champions League semi-finalists still mathematically able to catch Leicester, given that Friend has been moved to City’s trip to St James’ Park on Tuesday.
PREMIER LEAGUE OFFICIALS have decided against allowing self-confessed Leicester City fan Kevin Friend referee Tottenham’s clash with Stoke this weekend.
Friend lives near to Leicester, where he has attended matches in a personal capacity, and has not been selected to referee a match involving the Foxes since their promotion.
The PGMOL added in a statement: “It was felt unnecessary to add extra scrutiny on the refereeing appointment”.
File picture of Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross speaking with referee Kevin Friend during the Capital One Cup Fourth Round match between Stoke City and Chelsea at Britannia Stadium on Oct 27, 2015.
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Writing in his column for Colossus Bets, Owen said: “I take Tottenham to win 1-0 at Stoke”.
