Martin In The Middle On Saturday

By Tom Easterby

Referee Martin Atkinson has been named as the man in middle for Saturday's visit of Leicester City to St. James' Park.

The 43-year-old, who hails from Bradford, took charge of the opening day defeat to champions Manchester City at St. James' Park, booking United debutant Daryl Janmaat as well as Martin Demichelis, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov, David Silva and Fernando for the visitors.

More recently, Atkinson was handed the whistle for the European Championship qualifier between Serbia and Albania on Tuesday, but had to abandon the game amidst chaotic scenes in Belgrade after a drone carrying the Albanian flag and a political message was flown onto the pitch.

He has officiated in six top-flight fixtures so far this season, dishing out 28 yellow cards in the process, including seven in Chelsea's bad-tempered 2-0 win over Arsenal a fortnight ago.

The experienced official, who has been a Barclays Premier League referee since 2005, will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Andy Garrett this weekend, with Mike Dean the fourth official.