West Brom vs Sunderland: Who is the referee?

Ahead of this Sunday's Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, here is everything you need to know about the referee.

John Busby will the referee for Sunderland's midday Championship clash against West Brom this Sunday. 

Busby will be joined by Matthew McGrath and George Byrne as his two assistants, alongside James Linington as fourth official. 

The Oxfordshire-born referee spent eight years as an assistant referee before he joined the National Group List of referees in 2016. 

During his eight years as an assistant referee he also made 19 appearances as a referee in the National League, before going on to make his debut in the English Football League during the 2015/16 season. 

Since then he has gone on to make 207 appearances across the three EFL leagues, with 41 of those coming in the Championship. 

Busby has also officiated 40 games in domestic competitions, including the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and the EFL Trophy. 

Busby's record for Sunderland

The Black Cats have been refereed by Busby on seven different occasions, all of which coming in League One. 

Sunderland have a promising record under Busby, with five wins, one draw and just one loss. 

The loss came against Coventry City during the 2018/19 season in a thrilling match which ended 5-4.

Busby has averaged 1.43 cards against Sunderland in those seven matches, and has not had to dish out any red cards or award any penalty decisions against them.  

Overall, Busby averages just 2.43 cards per game in matches involving Sunderland, so hopefully Sunderland fans can expect a free-flowing match pace this Sunday. 

Busby's overall record this season

Games: 30
Yellow cards: 112
Red cards: 3
Penalties awarded: 3
Card per game: 3.83

Hopefully Sunderland can continue their positive record under Busby's stewardship as they take on fellow play-off challengers West Brom on Sunday. 

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