Leicester-based Kevin Friend has been a member of the Select Group of referees since the 2009/10 season, after a successful career outside of the top-flight.
Friend took up refereeing as a 14-year-old and plied his trade in local football and Midlands leagues before he started to progress through the Football League pyramid.
Prior to his appearance in the Premier League, he was regularly officiating in the Championship and has refereed over 100 matches to date, including the first leg of the Play-off Semi-final between Watford and Hull City in 2008.
Alongside numerous high profile Premier League appointments, Friend’s most notable honours so far include the 2012 FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Chelsea and the 2013 Capital One Cup final between Swansea City and Bradford City.