Late Leeds United v Sunderland official U-turn prompts talk of Sheffield United involvement amid "error"

Many Sheffield United supporters will be glued to their TV sets this evening as two of their automatic promotion rivals go head-to-head in a game that guarantees at least one of them will drop some valuable points. The Blades went back top of the Championship at the weekend after beating Luton Town 1-0 away at Kenilworth Road.

Earlier in the day United had watched as Burnley, the other side in a tense four-way battle for automatic promotion to the Premier League, could only draw 0-0 at Preston North End and for large periods it looked like their game at Luton would end the same way, before Anel Ahmedhodzic pounced with 11 minutes of normal time remaining with what proved to be the winner.

That result sent United a point clear of Leeds United at the top of the table but Daniel Farke’s side have the chance to respond this evening when they face fourth-placed Sunderland at Elland Road. The West Yorkshire side have made their home ground something of a fortress recently but a Sunderland victory would put them right back into the automatic promotion picture having fallen seven points adrift of Leeds.

Eyebrows were raised earlier today when Leeds journalist Adam Pope confirmed a change in the officials line-up for the big Elland Road clash, with Stuart Attwell now set to take charge. Craig Pawson was originally slated as the man in the middle for the game, with many Leeds fans since speculating that the change is because of Pawson’s hometown of Sheffield.

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Fans of both United and their city rivals Wednesday have claimed Pawson as one of their own while his father is understood to be a Wednesday fan. Another theory is that Attwell has been installed as the referee at Elland Road because he is on VAR duty elsewhere later this week.

But The Star understands that the decision was taken purely on scheduling rather than any other reason, with Pawson now taking charge of Liverpool’s trip to Aston Villa later this week.

Sheffield-based referee expert Keith Hackett, a former FIFA official who took charge of the 1981 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, believes that whatever Pawson’s allegiances, the decision to replace him “is not questioning Craig’s integrity or ability.” Speaking to The Star, Hackett added: “The PGMOL were wrong in the first place to appoint a Sheffield-based referee where United are chasing for promotion, and so are Leeds United.”