Wolverhampton Wanderers return to Premier League duty on Saturday evening, making the daunting trip to north London to face high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.
Vítor Pereira’s side remain rooted to the bottom of the table after five games, still without a point following last weekend’s damaging home defeat to newly-promoted Leeds United. Wolves did at least show some fight in midweek, knocking Everton out of the Carabao Cup, but they must now transfer that momentum into league form if they are to avoid being cut adrift so early in the campaign. The Old Gold are already four points from safety and staring at an uphill battle.
Officials confirmed for Tottenham clash
The Premier League has confirmed the officiating team for the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Michael Salisbury appointed as referee. Marc Perry and Steve Meredith will act as assistants, David Webb takes the role of fourth official, and VAR duties will be handled by Stuart Attwell with Akil Howson as his assistant.
That appointment may not sit comfortably with Wolves supporters, who still remember a controversial night under Salisbury’s watch in November 2023. On that occasion, a string of contentious calls — including three penalties, two of them against Wolves — condemned Gary O’Neil’s side to a 3-2 defeat at Fulham. O’Neil’s furious post-match outburst, in which he accused officials of damaging reputations and livelihoods, became one of the defining moments of his tenure.
The former boss was particularly incensed by the decision to penalise Nelson Semedo for a challenge on Tom Cairney, a call later admitted by officials to have been wrong. He also argued Fulham’s Carlos Vinícius should have seen red for a headbutt on Max Kilman and that Tim Ream ought to have been dismissed when conceding another penalty converted by Hwang Hee-chan.
Lessons from the past
O’Neil frequently clashed with refereeing decisions during his spell at Molineux, and Wolves fans will be wary of history repeating itself with Salisbury once again in charge. Speaking after that infamous Fulham match, O’Neil admitted the ordeal had shaken his belief in VAR:
“Maybe tonight has finally turned me against VAR. The impact on my reputation, the club and people’s livelihoods is massive. We should be able to talk about the game, not the decisions — but unfortunately we can’t.”
He went on to reveal that officials had conceded at least one major error but insisted Wolves had suffered from a run of misfortune. “For all four decisions to go against us is tough to take,” he said. “We didn’t deserve that.”
As Pereira prepares his team for a trip to a Spurs side sitting joint-second after three wins from five, Wolves will hope Saturday’s storyline is defined by football — and not the referee’s whistle.