Premier League make official decision ahead of Liverpool vs Ipswich Town showdown

The Premier League have confirmed that Michael Salisbury will be the referee for Liverpool’s upcoming clash with strugglers Ipswich Town.

The Lancashire-born referee is a former school teacher with just under a decade of experience in English football. He started his career in the 2015/16 campaign in the National League before enjoying a five-year career in the EFL between 2016 and 2021.

Salisbury was promoted to the Premier League as a Referee ahead of the 2021–22 season and has overseen 38 top-flight matches over the course of his career. In that time he has produced 151 yellow cards and seven red cards, giving him an average of 3.97 cards per game.

The 39-year-old has never previously officiated a Liverpool match, but has taken charge of two Ipswich games in his career, with the Tractor Boys coming out on top on one occasion and falling to defeat in the other match.

Michael Sailsbury past controversies

Michael Sailsbury has been in the Premier League for half a decade but has had his fair share of controversies over the years. In April 2023, Salisbury was the VAR for a controversial match between Brighton and Tottenham. He failed to intervene when Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma was fouled by Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and was dropped from the Premier League the following weekend.

He was also dropped earlier that season for failing to spot a collision between Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana and Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic which should have resulted in a penalty.

It was one of a number of VAR calls which infuriated ex-Wolves boss Gary O’Neil, with the 41-year-old also hitting out at VAR after Salisbury’s two errors in a match between Wolves and Fulham in November 2023.

Liverpool’s upcoming Premier League opponents

Liverpool are flying high at the top of the Premier League with 50 points from 21 games, but their opponents Ipswich Town are currently experiencing a very different season of fortunes after the euphoria of winning back-to-back promotions.

As it stands, Kieran McKenna’s side, who lost 2-0 at Anfield on the opening day, are 18th in the table with just 16 points from 22 games. They have won just three league matches since returning to the top-flight for the first time since 2002 and are the third lowest scorers in the division with just 20 goals this season.

The bulk of those have been scored by breakout star Liam Delap with eight goals, but McKenna’s men will hope new signings Jaden Philogene and Julio Enisco can have an impact on that after arriving from Aston Villa and Brighton respectively.