PGMOL appoint referee for Man United vs Chelsea who once angered Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United will face off against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, but will be hitting the early headlines for a contentious refereeing appointment.
One of the key storylines heading into the match will be Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho returning to Man United less than three weeks after he was sold by the North East club.
Man United lost against Manchester City last time out and will be hoping for a better result as head coach Ruben Amorim faces mounting questions over his future at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will have faced Bayern Munich in midweek, with a quick turnaround to the match that takes place at 5:30 on Saturday.
Peter Bankes will referee Man United vs Chelsea
PGMOL announced that Peter Bankes will be taking charge of the affair, with the referee having previously been embroiled in controversy with Man United during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time at the club.
The incident dates back to January 2021, when Bankes was criticised by then-United boss Solskjaer for what he believed were two refereeing errors during Man United’s 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United.
Solskjaer spoke about Bankes to BT Sport after the game, saying: “It’s a foul. Billy Sharp just runs into him [David De Gea] so he can’t get up, so it’s a foul.”
When asked about Anthony Martial’s disallowed effort, Solskjaer said: “No foul […] but it’s this kind of season, inconsistencies, so it’s going to be unpredictable. But it’s two mistakes by the referee.”
Bankes once angered Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Solskjaer’s anger with Bankes came when he believed Billy Sharp had interfered with goalkeeper David De Gea in the build-up to Kean Bryan’s opener for the Blades.
Bankes went further into Solskjaer’s bad books when he disallowed a goal by Anthony Martial just moments later, for a similar offence by Harry Maguire.
| Peter Bankes 2025-26 record | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Penalty’s given |
| Nottingham Forest v Brentford | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Manchester City v Newcastle United | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Leeds United v Newcastle United | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bournemouth v Brighton | 8 | 0 | 1 |
Bankes has refereed four games so far this season, including the heated match between Bournemouth and Brighton, which saw controversy over a penalty kick decision.
Man United have been on the correct end of two penalty decisions so far this season, and will hope for some renewed favours from Bankes against Chelsea on Saturday.