Referee set for Man Utd return vs Nottingham Forest after 'pointless' red card gesture

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The Premier League have confirmed that Darren England will take charge of Manchester United's clash against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. It will be the referee's first match involving the Red Devils since he dismissed Patrick Dorgu last season .

The United defender was shown a straight red card during a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town back in February after diving into a high tackle on Omari Hutchinson. Dorgu, whom Ruben Amorim signed from Lecce for £25m at the start of the year, made minimal contact with the ball, with the follow-through catching his opponent late on the top of the shin.

England initially brandished a yellow card, but the Video Assistant Referee advised him to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor. Following a quick check, the decision was overturned, and Dorgu was given his marching orders .

At the time, England was seen explaining the call before pulling out the red card. Speaking to Football Insider, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News , Keith Hackett claimed that it left the referee vulnerable to criticism.

The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee said: "The red card issued by Darren England is correct, this is a challenge with excessive force, that endangers the safety of his opponent.

"Frankly, I monitored the player leaving the field of play without engaging in any discussion; it is easy in the heat of the situation to be accused of saying something.

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"You should monitor for sure, but there is no point of explaining why the player is being sent off; it is pretty obvious when you make a challenge with such force."

The Premier League have announced its match officials for this weekend's fixtures, with England taking the reins for United's clash at the City Ground. Scott Ledger and Akil Howson will be his assistants, with Bobby Madley joining the managers in the technical area.

The VAR for Saturday's clash is Tim Robinson, and he'll be assisted by Paul Howard. United will look to pick up from where they left off following their 4-2 win over Brighton at the weekend.

The Red Devils have won each of their last three games in the Premier League, climbing to sixth in the table . Speaking to reporters at Old Trafford following the victory against the Seagulls, Ruben Amorim outlined his plans for the Forest clash.

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"Enjoy today but, tomorrow, we need to prepare for Nottingham Forest because, if you look at the table, two weeks can change everything," said the United boss. "One week can change everything.

"We need to enjoy the week but work really hard to prepare for the next one. Today, we finished the game with a goal that gave us a different feeling.

"So, when you have the right spirit, everything is going in your favour. We need to hold onto that, work really hard and take that to the next game."

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