Chris Kavanagh is an English football referee born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England on 4 September 1985. He made his Premier League debut on 8 April 2017. He has been FIFA-listed since 2019. Kavanagh has been a Premier League official since 2017 and has also built a growing UEFA profile. He is part of the current Premier League officiating pool and is regularly relevant for pre-match analysis, appointment previews and VAR-focused discussion.
In the 2025/26 Premier League season, Kavanagh has officiated 21 league matches, averaging 22.71 fouls, 0.29 penalties, 3.86 yellow cards and 0.10 red cards per game. Those numbers point to a balanced but firm profile, with a solid middle ground in disciplinary terms. For The VAR Verdict, that statistical snapshot helps readers understand the disciplinary threshold and general tone he has shown this season.