John Mousinho will be delighted after EFL announcement ahead of Portsmouth vs Watford
Portsmouth are set to take on Watford on Wednesday at Fratton Park.
The match is a perfect opportunity for Pompey to get back to winning ways after two successive defeats in the Championship.
In Saturday’s defeat to Ipswich, many Portsmouth players were poor, as concerns grow about their form.
Portsmouth are edging closer to the relegation zone, with the South Coast club aiming to avoid a repeat of last season’s battle. With Watford also struggling early on this campaign, three points will be expected by the Fratton Park faithful.
Now, the chances of a Portsmouth victory on Wednesday may have just increased.
Ben Toner set to referee Portsmouth vs Watford
Ahead of the match on Wednesday, the EFL announced on 24 September that Ben Toner is set to take charge of Portsmouth’s fixture against Watford.
Toner has commonly overseen Pompey matches, refereeing 15 of the South Coast club’s matches throughout his career. However, many of these have come with controversy.
Back in March 2023, when Portsmouth played Sheffield Wednesday at Fratton Park, the referee oversaw ‘Towelgate’.
This was when the Owls placed numerous towels around the pitch to aid them with long throw-ins.
However, after Mousinho spoke to Toner, the referee made the decision to remove this, causing a stoppage in the match, which no doubt pleased the Pompey manager.
- In the fixture, the game was halted so the towel could be removed from the sidelines
- It came after Mousinho had spoken to Toner
- However, Portsmouth still went on to lose the match 1-0
On top of this, Portsmouth also have a solid record when Toner takes charge of their games, winning five of the 15, drawing three.
The referee has also only sent off a Pompey player once in these matches, while also awarding the South Coast club three penalties.
In comparison, Watford are yet to win a match under Toner.
Therefore, compared to other referees Mousinho could have got, the manager is likely to be pleased with the appointment, especially after Portsmouth’s recent troubles with referees.
Toner record in the 2025/26 campaign
So far this season, Toner has had plenty of big decisions to make.
According to WhoScored on 29 September, the referee is averaging four yellow cards a match and 0.25 reds.
On top of this, penalties are also common, coming in at 0.5 per match from 28.5 fouls.
Therefore, if Wednesday’s match continues this trend, it could be an eventful game.
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