Community Shield referee was pushed by Arsenal star and admitted to player he was wrong

Referee Sam Barrott is the man in charge for Arsenal's Community Shield clash against Manchester City

Referee Sam Barrott has history with Arsenal duo Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze ahead of the Gunners' Community Shield clash against Manchester City. The 34-year-old was announced as the main official for Sunday's match between the Premier League top two last month.

Barrott first started refereeing in the English top flight in the 2023/24 season after four years in the lower divisions. He endured a rough start to life in the Premier League after then-Fulham boss Marco Silva claimed he "didn't have the experience to handle the pressure" in the Cottagers' 3-0 defeat to Newcastle in December 2023.

Silva was incensed that Barrott sent off Raul Jimenez after 22 minutes, just two minutes after Jamaal Lascelles had caught the striker with an elbow. After the game, the Portuguese manager said: "It was a really strange performance from the referee from the first minute to the last minute.

"Lascelles clearly elbowed Raul and not even a foul. I'm not saying red card, but a clear foul. You need referees with experience and to be able to handle the pressure." When asked if he thought Barrott was not experienced enough, Silva simply answered: "Clearly, no doubt."

The following season, Barrott was again involved in controversy during Crystal Palace's 2-1 defeat to Brentford in August 2024. After the game, Eze claimed that the referee admitted to blowing the whistle early to disallow his goal.

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Eze believed he'd put his side 1-0 up after beating Mark Flekken with a quick free-kick, but Barrott had already called for a foul by Will Hughes before the ball crossed the line. His decision meant VAR was unable to intervene in the situation, and Palace faced further bad news when replays showed Hughes may have been fouled himself.

The south London club went on to lose the game, with Eze explaining how Barrott had held his hands up. He told Sky Sports: "The referee said he blew too early and made a mistake, so fair enough, everyone makes mistakes, but that was a goal that could have made the difference today.

"We feel a little bit [hard done by] because as he said, it was a mistake, but listen, we had so many other chances to score today, especially me, so one of those days and we just move on to the next one."

He's enjoyed a speedy ascent up the officiating ranks, having been promoted to the Professional Referee Group and the FIFA list of international referees in the 2024/25 campaign. Just three months after the game at Gtech Community Stadium, Barrott was chosen to officiate Arsenal's heavyweight clash against Manchester United.

His rocky start was soon forgotten as he's since been praised numerous times for his decision-making. Andoni Iraola lauded Barrott for playing an advantage in the lead-up to Junior Kroupi's goal in the Cherries' 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest last October.

Arsenal and Manchester City will meet once again on Sunday, August 16, when the Premier League champions play the FA Cup winners in the FA Community Shield. Fans can watch the game live on TNT Sports via HBO Max or Prime Video's HBO Max channel.

He was also commended for his performance in Everton's 3-0 win over Chelsea in March earlier this year. Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett told Goodison News:"After delivering a fair amount of criticism of the standard of the current PGMOL referees, it is pleasing to highlight the excellent performance of Samuel Barrott in charge of the Everton v Chelsea game today.

"He moved around the field of play with ease, achieving some very good viewing angles. His communication with the players appeared to be respectful, and his detection of offences was very good. Well done to him and his colleagues."

His showing in the game came a month before he was embroiled in controversy with Gabriel Martinelli when he took charge of Arsenal's shock 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup. The Premier League champions were chasing an equaliser in the final minutes of the match after Shea Charles' 94th-minute strike.

Mikel Arteta's side were awarded a free-kick and in Martinelli's attempts to take it quickly, he shoved Barrott. The 25-year-old was handed a yellow card, but former top-flight referee Mark Halsey said the winger should have been sent off for his actions. Halsey said to the Sun: "Referee Sam Barrott awarded a free-kick to Arsenal, Martinelli comes rushing in and he pushes Sam out of the way.

"Now I'm sorry, Gabriel Martinelli showed total disrespect for the match official Sam Barrott in that situation. Although Sam issued a yellow card, for me it's a red card. You just cannot put your hands on a referee, let alone push him out of the way."

Barrott's impressive showings have earned him the Community Shield job, with Arteta looking for his third victory in the match since becoming Arsenal manager. It'll be Enzo Maresca's first competitive game as City boss since the ex-Chelsea manager replaced Pep Guardiola this summer.