Craig Pawson is an English football referee born in Sheffield, England on 2 March 1979. He made his Premier League debut on 2 March 2013. He has been FIFA-listed since 2015. Pawson is a veteran English referee who has handled Premier League matches since 2013. 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, Pawson has officiated 17 league matches, averaging 21.35 fouls, 0.29 penalties, 2.47 yellow cards and 0.12 red cards per game. Those numbers point to a balanced but firm profile, with a relatively restrained yellow-card average. For The VAR Verdict, that statistical snapshot helps readers understand the disciplinary threshold and general tone he has shown this season.
Historical coverage is selective. We only show seasons and competitions where our sources provide enough verified referee data, so some older seasons may not be available.
Nottingham Forest
0–0
Tottenham
Manchester United
5–2
Ipswich
Nottingham Forest
1–1
Bournemouth
Liverpool
1–1
Chelsea
Brentford
3–0
West Ham
Brighton
3–0
Chelsea
Bournemouth
0–0
Brentford
Wolves
2–0
Aston Villa
Sunderland AFC
1–3
Fulham
Liverpool
1–2
Manchester City
Arsenal
2–3
Manchester United
Fulham
2–2
Liverpool
Nottingham Forest
0–0
Tottenham
Manchester United
5–2
Ipswich
Nottingham Forest
1–1
Bournemouth
Liverpool
1–1
Chelsea
Brentford
3–0
West Ham
Brighton
3–0
Chelsea
Bournemouth
0–0
Brentford
Wolves
2–0
Aston Villa
Sunderland AFC
1–3
Fulham
Liverpool
1–2
Manchester City
Arsenal
2–3
Manchester United
Fulham
2–2
Liverpool
Hull City AFC
0–1
Swansea
Burnley
0–0
Everton
Liverpool
2–0
Brighton
Fulham
4–5
Manchester City
Everton
1–4
Newcastle
Sunderland AFC
2–2
Arsenal
Everton
0–3
Tottenham
Brighton
2–1
Newcastle
Historical coverage is selective. Only seasons with sufficient verified referee data are shown; some competitions and older seasons are intentionally unavailable when coverage is incomplete.
VAR event counts describe provider-coded incidents. They do not represent The VAR Verdict's editorial judgment on whether a decision was correct or incorrect.
