Michael Salisbury is an English football referee born in Penwortham, Lancashire, England. He made his Premier League debut on 27 November 2021. Salisbury, a former teacher, followed his father into officiating and reached the top-flight panel in 2021. 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, Salisbury has officiated 9 league matches, averaging 23.56 fouls, 0.78 penalties, 4.56 yellow cards and 0.00 red cards per game. Those numbers point to a assertive and quick to punish major incidents profile, with a noticeable tendency to award penalties, and no red cards in his Premier League sample so far. 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.
Leeds
4–1
Newcastle
West Brom
1–0
Watford
Sunderland AFC
1–0
Fulham
Manchester United
3–2
Nottingham Forest
Manchester City
3–0
Brentford
Bournemouth
2–2
Leeds
Nottingham Forest
1–1
Aston Villa
Swansea
2–0
Sheffield Wednesday FC
Ipswich
1–1
Millwall
Nottingham Forest
1–1
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
3–2
Liverpool
Newcastle
4–3
Leeds
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.
