Nottingham Forest v West Ham United
Premier League, City Ground, Sunday 31 August 2025, 2pm BST
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistant Referees: Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan
Fourth Official: Ruebyn Ricardo
VAR: Andy Madley
Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
Craig Pawson has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
One of the country’s most experienced officials, the 46-year-old has been a part of the Select Group of Referees since 2013 and has held the whistle once in the Premier League so far this campaign, at Aston Villa’s curtain-raiser against Newcastle United on the opening weekend.
Pawson has previously taken charge of the 2017/18 EFL Cup and 2021/22 FA Cup finals, as well as two Community Shield clashes, in 2016 and 2022.
He has refereed 26 fixtures involving the Hammers during his esteemed career, most recently the memorable 1-0 triumph over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in February this year.
The South Yorkshire native took charge of three West Ham fixtures in 2024/25, including the 2-0 victory at Newcastle at the end of November 2024 and the 3-2 win against Fulham, in what was Graham Potter’s first match in charge at London Stadium.
Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan have been named as the assistant referees at the City Ground.
The duo regularly officiate matches alongside Pawson, and duly served with him in the aforementioned Arsenal clash in February.
Bennett, a 40-year-old from Staffordshire, is an experienced assistant who worked at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He is also a regular for UEFA, assisting in the Champions League and other European fixtures, and has worked across over 500 games throughout his career.
Fellow assistant Robathan, meanwhile, is also a well-versed official who has worked in the Premier League since 2018. He featured as an assistant referee at a West Ham United Premier League match on six occasions last season.
Ruebyn Ricardo will be the fourth official on Sunday.
Ricardo, who only started refereeing in 2013, when a broken wrist prevented him from playing contact sport, leading his PE teacher to hand him the whistle to officiate in school fixtures, is now a PGMO Development Group official, in what has been a remarkable rise.
He was the first referee of Black heritage to officiate the FA Vase final at the end of last season, having already become the youngest Black referee to officiate an EFL fixture in April 2023, aged just 25.
He served as the fourth official in three Premier League matches last season, all of which involved the Hammers, against Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.
Video Assistant Referee responsibilities will be overseen by Andy Madley.
The 41-year-old was the man in the middle of West Ham defeats to Tottenham and Liverpool last season, and he oversaw VAR duties in victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United. He will be assisted at the City Ground by Craig Taylor.
