Kevin Friend removed from Spurs game due to Leicester title challenge - but previous games show no signs of bias

Friend will instead referee Tuesday's encounter between Newcastle and Manchester City

Kevin Friend will not referee Stoke vs Tottenham due to his support of Leicester City (Getty)

Referee Kevin Friend has been removed from taking charge of Tottenham’s Premier League match with Stoke City on Monday night because he lives in Leicester and has been seen at the King Power Stadium when not officiating.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited confirmed the decision on Thursday morning and claimed it was to avoid “extra scrutiny on the refereeing appointment”, despite the requirement for referees to be unbiased in order to take charge of top level football matches.

With Tottenham attempting to chase down Leicester in the race for the Premier League title, a decision was taken to replace Friend with Neil Swarbrick, who hails from Lancashire, with Friend redeployed to Tuesday’s fixture between Newcastle and Manchester City.

A statement read: "PGMOL has made the decision to change the referee for the match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur as Kevin Friend, initially selected for the game, is from Leicester and has attended matches at Leicester City in a personal capacity.

"Given the timing and context of this match, it was felt unnecessary to add extra scrutiny on the refereeing appointment.

"Neil Swarbrick will referee the match and Friend will referee Newcastle United vs Manchester City."

Kevin Friend’s top four games this season

3 October – Manchester City 6-1 Newcastle

31 October – Swansea 0-3 Arsenal

13 December – Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal

19 December – Southampton 0-2 Tottenham

2 February – Norwich 0-3 Spurs

7 February – Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal

The PGMOL does not select any referee to officiate a club which they openly support or live near, but the move sees Friend taken off a game that could influence the Foxes title challenge. Leicester are currently seven points clear of Spurs with five games left to play, but the decision is a strange one given Friend’s officiating of Leicester’s rivals this season.

The 44-year-old has officiated six games this season which involved other top four teams in Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City, and all six have seen the title-challenging side win by at least two goals.

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.