It's another new referee for QPR fans to get stuck into on Tuesday night as Mick Russell visits Loftus Road for the first time for the match against Crystal Palace.

QPR v Crystal Palace
Referee – Mick Russell (Hertfordshire)
Assistants – George (Norfolk) and Whitton (Essexbr>Fourth Official – Rubery (Essex)

I feel like I am saying the same thing every week in this column at the moment – another newbie for our next match, against Palace on Tuesday night. Mick Russell has been on the league list a little longer than many of the officials we have had so far this season, six seasons in total, but this is his first ever QPR fixture.

So far this season he has shown 22 yellows (2.2 a match) and one red in ten games. That includes six yellows in the MK Dons v Huddersfield game last weekend, and four yellows and a red at Swindon v Southend the week before. Two of his games so far have been in the Championship – Doncaster 1 Preston 1 and Reading 1 Sheffield United 3 where three yellows cards were shown in total.

Last season he showed 57 yellows (2.0357 a game) and four reds in 28 matches. Again his top haul in a single match was six yellows. Nine of those matches were in the Championship including Palace’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton in April and their 1-0 home victory against Charlton in September.

Interesting to note that fourth official Steve Rubery was one of the linesmen at Ashton gate for the now infamous Freddie Sears incident earlier this season – no doubt he and Neil Warnock will have plenty to discuss on the touchline tonight.

No stand out appointments elsewhere this Tuesday but top premiership referee Alan Wiley is the man picked to referee the Sheffield derby at Bramall Lane on Friday. Looking further ahead our game at Cardiff will be refereed by Elite list official Lee Probert, a man we do have a bit of history with. More on him later in the week.

Links >>> Referee League 09/10 >>> Referee League Index >>> Photo courtesy of refworld.com

Photo: Action Images

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