The referee tasked with overseeing this weekend's north London derby clash doesn't officiate two Premier League clubs
Peter Bankes will oversee one of the most heated and eagerly anticipated fixtures of the season this Sunday afternoon when Tottenham take on Arsenal in the north London derby.
The Lancashire-born referee is vastly experienced and the perfect pick for such a high-stakes fixture, but interestingly, the 43-year-old has never officiated matches involving two particular Premier League clubs.
Bankes, a FIFA-listed referee since 2021, will be assisted by Eddie Smart and Blake Antrobus at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The fourth official has been confirmed as Sam Barrott, with Darren England and assistant Tim Wood in charge of VAR.
Hailing from Merseyside, Bankes' County FA is the Liverpool Football Association. And it is for that reason that he has never taken charge of a match involving either Liverpool or Everton.
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Premier League referees must declare which football team they support, and are not allowed to officiate matches involving that club or fixtures directly affecting them. They are also generally avoided for clubs in their immediate local area, even if they don't support them, as well as clubs associated with their County FA.
Bankes has taken charge of 18 Premier League games this season and shown 72 yellow cards, averaging four per match. He has also brandished three red cards, including one for two bookable offences, while awarding five penalty kicks in the current top-flight season.
Some Arsenal fans may be encouraged by his appointment for the derby, given Mikel Arteta's men have won nine, drawn one and lost three of their 13 games with Bankes in the middle. Two of those losses came against Southampton, one in the FA Cup and one in the league.
His most recent game in charge of Arsenal was their 1-0 win over Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Before that, he took charge of their 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in December and their 5-1 mauling of Manchester City back in February 2025.
He has also only given out 12 yellow cards to Arsenal players and has not yet sent off a Gunners star. Meanwhile, Spurs fans may be less happy to see Bankes on Sunday.
The referee has managed to incense several Tottenham managers down the years, including Jose Mourinho in September 2020. Mourinho was left raging with Bankes during a 1-1 draw with Newcastle for a handball decision against Eric Dier.
In August 2022, Bankes was on the wrong end of some choice words, this time from Antonio Conte, following a game against West Ham. The Italian was unhappy with how Bankes handled a penalty incident when he overturned an on-field decision against Aaron Cresswell, denying Spurs a penalty.
Bankes was labelled "embarrassing" for his "very, very strange" decision. More recently, Ange Postecoglou was left fuming that two penalties weren't awarded to James Maddison during a 2-1 win over Sheffield United.