Premier League make official decision ahead of Aston Villa vs West Ham after Wolves controversy

The Premier League have confirmed the appointment of Peter Bankes as referee for Aston Villa’s upcoming home match against West Ham United at Villa Park.

Bankes became a top-flight referee at the start of the 2019/20 season and has taken charge of over 83 Premier League matches in his career so far. He has overseen 13 top-flight games this term and has produced 52 yellow cards and red cards in that period, giving him an average of four yellows per game.

He has refereed 20 Aston Villa games over the course of his career, with the Villans coming out on top on seven occasions, drawing nine times and falling to defeat in the other four matches.

Bankes has only taken charge of one Aston Villa fixture this season which came in a crucial 2-1 victory over defending champions Manchester City. West Ham-linked striker Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers were the goalscorers for the West Midlands side, with Phil Foden scoring a late consolation for the visitors.

Bankes will work alongside assistants Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh. Ruebyn Ricardo will be the game’s fourth official while VAR duties are going to be carried out by Paul Tierney and assistant Tim Wood.

Peter Bankes referees Aston Villa game after Wolves controversy

Peter Bankes hit the headlines earlier this season in a controversial moment when he failed to award Forest a spot-kick for what appeared to be a clear handball from Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Ola Aina’s cross was blocked by Ait-Nouri’s outstretched arm and there was an almost certain movement towards the ball, as shown by the replays from several angles. That’s not how the officials saw it, however, as Bankes originally waved away Forest’s appeals and then VAR agreed with the match official’s call upon a second look.

The incident caused something of a stir among supporters but ultimately didn’t influence the outcome of the game as high-flying Forest secured a statement 3-0 victory over the struggling side. However, the Premier League still issued a statement to clear up the decision-making process.

The statement, posted on the Premier League Match Centre account on X (formerly Twitter) read: “The referee’s call for no penalty for a potential handball by Ait-Nouri was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his arm was in a natural position.”

Aston Villa’s upcoming opponents

West Ham are currently enduring an underwhelming campaign in the Premier League after the departure of long-term manager David Moyes.

His replacement Julen Lopetegui, formerly of Wolves, Real Madrid and Spain, failed to hit the ground running, and after bringing in over £100m worth of new recruits, was dismissed in December with the Hammers languishing in 14th position after losing nine of their opening 20 games.

Style of football and results on the pitch were a major concern during the Spaniards reign, and as a result the club’s hierarchy turned to former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter to try and turn the club’s fortunes around. Potter kickstarted his West Ham tenure with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the FA Cup and has since recorded a 3-2 victory over Fulham and a 2-0 loss to London rivals Crystal Palace.

The 49-year-old’s side are desperately short of attacking options with Michail Antoinio, Jarrod Bowen and summer signing Niclas Füllkrug all missing due to injury. The Hammer initially set their sights on signing long-term Aston Villa target Jhon Duran, but after a failed £57m bid have turned their attentions elsewhere to an experienced Portuguese international.