West Ham will kickstart their 2021/22 Premier League campaign with a trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United this weekend.
The Hammers will be hoping to emulate the heroics of last term when David Moyes’ side defied the odds to finish sixth and qualify for the Europa League.
Spearheaded by dominant midfield dup Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, the addition of Jesse Lingard in February helped the Irons finish the season in remarkable fashion.
It has been confirmed that Martin Atkinson will be the man in the middle when West Ham gets back underway on Sunday, accompanied by support from Lee Betts and James Mainwaring whilst Peter Bankes will take up the all-important VAR post.
Twitter: Match officials for Newcastle Vs West Ham…
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistants: Lee Betts and James Mainwaring
Fou… https://t.co/8Ev7JRTTN8 (@MagpieCentraI)
Having witnessed a record number of penalties in 2020/21 and an abundance of tight offside calls, rules have been tweaked ahead of the new season and will be implemented from the get-go.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Whoever the officials, all supporters up and down the land will be hoping for far less controversy and more seamless use of VAR moving forwards.
Far too often the football played second fiddle to the action and West Ham were on the wrong end of a soon to be rescinded dismissal of Soucek against Fulham.
Fingers crossed football is the main talking point over the weekend and beyond.
