Referee Kevin Friend being dropped for Tottenham vs Stoke has been labelled as 'dangerous'

The Premier League's decision to stop Kevin Friend from refereeing Tottenham vs Stoke because of his perceived support of Leicester has set a "dangerous" precedent, according to journalists on Sunday Supplement.

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Friend was supposed to referee Stoke vs Tottenham on Monday Night Football, but will instead take charge of Newcastle vs Manchester City 24 hours later. Neil Swarbrick will officiate at the Britannia.  

The change happened after Spurs fans took to social media to point out Friend, a Bristol City fan, lives in Leicestershire and has attended Foxes matches in the past.  

Speaking on the Sunday Supplement, the Guardian's London football correspondent Dominic Fifield said the decision would impact all referee appointments.

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"Arsene Wenger spoke about it on Friday and he suggested that you don't referee 'your team', the team you support overtly, which in this case is Bristol City. But once removed, there's not supposed to be any issue at all," Fifield said.

"We've now got Everton fans worried about the prospect of Anthony Taylor taking charge of the FA Cup semi-final this weekend because Taylor lives in Altrincham, which is vaguely near to Old Trafford.

"You've got Norwich fans worrying that Michael Oliver shouldn't have refereed the defeat at Crystal Palace because he's a Newcastle supporter or lives in Newcastle. It keeps going.

"I just think it is a dangerous decision to have made and from now on every referee appointment has got to be scrutinised."

Times writer Matt Dickinson blamed managers themselves for starting the theories and fanning the flames. "I think it is a step too far but at the same time the villains here are fans and managers.

"Arsene Wenger talks about it but managers are spreading more conspiracy theories than Twitter itself.

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"Ultimately the Premier League has to say 'No, no, no', we are not going to be pushed around by conspiracy theorists. But, at the same time, who is peddling them in the first place?"

Jason Burt of the Telegraph agreed, adding that imposing stricter rules would mean "giving in" to the theorists.

"If you start doing this, you are pandering, you are giving in. You've got to be firm and say the integrity of our referees is something we believe in."