Referee of previous Leeds United v Aston Villa controversy given Premier League re-run

Attwell was the man in the middle for the 2018/19 Elland Road Championship clash between the Whites and Aston Villa that sparked mayhem and a FIFA Fair Play award for Marcelo Bielsa.

Both sides were vying for promotion when they met towards the end of that season and the game was goalless in the second half when Mateusz Klich netted after the visiting team, for whom Jonathan Kodjia had hit the deck, stopped playing.

The goal prompted a mass confrontation in which Anwar El Ghazi saw red following a clash with Leeds striker Patrick Bamford. The red card was subsequently overturned on appeal and Bamford was given a two-game suspension for deceiving Attwell and his officiating team. He went on to apologise for what he called a ‘stupid dive.’

Amid fury from the Villa bench over the manner of Leeds’ goal, ex-Whites head coach Bielsa ordered his team to give the opposition an equaliser and the visitors walked one in, despite Pontus Jansson’s attempt to defy his manager’s orders.

FIFA went on to commend Bielsa with an award for his sportsmanship, saying: “The game finished 1-1, ultimately allowing their promotion rivals Sheffield United to guarantee their automatic spot in the Premier League, at Leeds' expense.

"At the season's conclusion, Leeds remained in the division after failing to gain promotion via the play-offs. What was at stake makes Bielsa's act all the more remarkable, with the Argentinean coach and his side receiving the 2019 FIFA Fair Play Award for his side's commendable act of sportsmanship."

Sunday’s meeting of Leeds and Villa will mark Attwell’s 20th game in charge of the Whites. To date, the only Leeds player to be sent off by the 39-year-old referee is Liam Cooper, who received two yellows in an infamous FA Cup defeat by Sutton United. Attwell is yet to award Leeds a spot-kick and has given three against them.

Leeds’ record with Attwell in charge stands at 10 wins, two draws and seven defeats, while Villa have won eight of the 13 games in which he was referee.

This season the Warwickshire official has shown 27 yellow cards and two reds in six games, including the sending off of Kalidou Koulibaly at Elland Road during Leeds’ 3-0 win over Chelsea.

He will be assisted on Sunday by Darren Cann and Harry Lennard, with Tony Harrington acting as fourth official and Michael Salisbury VAR. Mark Scholes will assist Salisbury at Stockley Park.