(Credit: Imago)

Keith Hackett questions Sunderland v Sheffield United announcement - Exclusive

Refereeing Consultant AUTHORITY Former FIFA Referee; Head of PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited). FOCUS Laws of the Game, VAR implementation, officiating performance, and PGMOL policy. THE AUDIT Keith utilises Statscore’s Officiating Telemetry, including Deep-Data Metrics like Incident Accuracy Rates, VAR Intervention Latency, and Official Positional Efficiency. He provides technical refereeing analysis to reveal the regulatory reality behind match-defining decisions.

Published on:

22 May 2025, 6:30 am

Sunderland's play-off final encounter with Sheffield United led to a questionable decision made by the EFL.

Wembley will play host to Sunderland's biggest game in the last nine years, when they face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final.

48 games have all come down to these final 90 minutes, and everyone on Wearside will be hoping their side can secure their return to the Premier League for the first time since 2016.

Regis Le Bris' side have already had to overcome a 40-year voodoo when they beat Coventry City away from home, and they will need to end another this weekend.

Le Bris is one game from Sunderland history (Credit: Imago)

Chris Kavanagh named as Championship play-off final referee

Sunderland are just 90 minutes away from returning to the Premier League, showcasing just how big this game on Saturday will be.

The Blades have had a good season, though, as showcased by the Mackems earlier in the campaign, they can be beaten.

However, by doing so, Sunderland will also have to end a five-game winless run when Chris Kavanagh has been in charge of their games, though Keith Hackett believes the EFL should have appointed someone else.

Team	Position	Goal Difference	Points
Sheffield United	3	27	90
Sunderland	4	14	76

Sunderland face Sheffield United in the play-off final.

Speaking to Mackem News, the former PGMOL official said: "I am clear in that the play-off final between Sheffield United and Sunderland should be officiated by our number one referee, and at the moment that is Anthony Taylor."

Of course, the Black Cats will be hoping their promotion fate isn't decided by a refereeing error, though with VAR involved, that shouldn't be the case.

Dan Ballard scored in the 122nd minute for Sunderland v Coventry. (Credit: Imago)

Le Bris is 90 minutes away from making history

Le Bris has had an excellent first campaign in England, though he won't want to see all that hard work amount to nothing come the end of it.

Sunderland will not get a better chance than this to seal their return to the top flight, and it is imperative that they take it.

Keith Hackett

efl