Meet the officials | Reading

Kevin Friend will be the man in charge when Swansea City make the journey to Reading on Easter Monday.

The 50-year-old began refereeing in Leicestershire at the age of 14 and worked in the Leicestershire Senior League and Midland Football Alliance before being added to the National List of Referees in 2003.

In 2009, he was included in the Select Group of Referees allowing him to referee at the top level. He took charge of his first Premier League game in September of that year.

Working mainly in the Premier League, Friend’s last trip to SA1 was in January 2021. He oversaw proceedings as the Swans defeated Nottingham Forest 5-1 in the Emirates FA Cup.

He last took charge of a Swans league match in February 2019: a 1-0 home win over Millwall, and prior to that a home win for the Swans over Queens Park Rangers.

In the current campaign, Friend has refereed 23 games handing out 87 yellow cards and one red.

On Monday, he will be assisted by Scott Ledger and Matthew Wilkes. The fourth official will be Declan Bourne.