Sam Barrott, the referee for Sunday's Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester City, has a history with Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli and Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze. The 34-year-old was announced as the main official for the match between the Premier League top two last month.
Early Premier League Struggles
Barrott began refereeing in the English top flight in the 2023/24 season after four years in the lower divisions. His early days were marked by controversy when 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, Silva 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 answered: "Clearly, no doubt."
Eze Incident and Apology
The following season, Barrott was 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. 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, and replays showed Hughes may have been fouled himself.
Eze 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."
Rise and Praise
Barrott has enjoyed a speedy ascent, being promoted to the Professional Referee Group and the FIFA list of international referees in the 2024/25 campaign. Just three months after the Brentford game, he officiated Arsenal's 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. He was also commended for his performance in Everton's 3-0 win over Chelsea in March. 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."
Martinelli Push and Community Shield
His showing in the Everton game came a month before he was embroiled in controversy with Martinelli when he took charge of Arsenal's shock 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup. Arsenal were chasing an equaliser in the final minutes after Shea Charles' 94th-minute strike. In Martinelli's attempts to take a free-kick 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. Halsey told 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 Mikel 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 he replaced Pep Guardiola this summer.
