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Sheffield United’s hopes of achieving automatic promotion have taken a major blow in recent weeks, surrendering ground to Leeds United and Burnley in the Championship table.
The Blades have dropped five points off second-place Burnley after three consecutive losses, with Sheffield United losing to Plymouth Argyle last time out.
Chris Wilder lost his head at full-time as he squared up to some of the Plymouth players in the tunnel after Miron Muslic predicted his side would win prior to kick-off.
The FA have since charged Sheffield United for the sixth time this season following those ugly scenes, and they must erase that match from their memory as they host Cardiff City this weekend.
Wilder’s men head into that clash against the relegation battlers knowing that anything less than three points would end their faint automatic promotion hopes, and the referee for the clash has now been named.
Tony Harrington will referee Sheffield United vs Cardiff City
Wilder has issued a rallying cry to his players ahead of a win-or-bust match at Bramall Lane, with everything on the line for both sides.
The importance of the fixture cannot be understated, and ahead of Sheffield United’s crunch clash, Tony Harrington has been named as the referee with Will Finnie as his fourth official.
Harrington has taken charge of 11 games involving the Blades, and their record reads five wins, one draw and five losses.
The Englishman has also dished out 22 yellow cards, suggesting he isn’t shy of going into his pocket when something controversial happens.
That was the case when United were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace in January 2024, as Wilder was involved in yet more controversy.
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Chris Wilder called Harrington ‘ridiculous’ after Crystal Palace loss
In the Premier League loss to Palace last season, Wilder was left seething at several decisions that went against his side in the match, directing his anger towards Harrington.
Speaking after the game to BBC Sport, the Blades boss said: “It’s yet again another ridiculous performance from the referee.
“I was told by a Premier League referee, who I’ve known for a long time and who’s as honest as the day is long. He said get ready because every tight decision will go against you.
“He said every 50/50 decision will go against you. We had two bookings in the first half of the game but they weren’t bookings. They were just a coming together.
“Their boy absolutely takes our goalkeeper out, we have to change goalkeepers and the boy doesn’t get booked. He says it was an accident, he clashed, it makes no odds if it’s an accident or it’s not an accident. It’s a yellow card.
“One of his assistants was eating a sandwich at the time, which I thought was a complete lack of respect. Hopefully he enjoyed his sandwich while he was talking to a Premier League manager.”
The above comments were straight from the heart, but they didn’t go down well as the FA fined him a whopping £11,500.
So, ahead of a huge game at Bramall Lane, Wilder will hope there’s less controversy involving the decisions of Harrington and his side pick up a vital three points.