As if poor form, a Sunday weather and heavy snow wasn't enough QPR fans travelled to Sheffield United this weekend in the knowledge that a hellish refereeing appointment awaits them as well.

Sheffield United v QPR
Referee: Andy Hall (West Midlands)
Assistants – Metcalfe (Lancashire) and Hair (Cambridgeshire)
Fourth Official – Fletcher (Derbyshire)

Well I was hoping Reading at home would be the first and last time I would have to write this particular column this season but sadly we have been punished with the worst referee in the Football League for a second time this season at Sheffield United on Sunday. Hall, whose record with QPR over the years is absolutely astonishing, can be seen on the highlights packages every single week suffocating games to death with red cards and penalties as he applies the rules to the absolute letter without ever showing even a modicum of common sense. The man has a footballing heart the size of a pea and games he is in charge of should come with a ticket discount.

Hall operates a firm book now and ask questions later policy with 85 yellows and five reds already shown this season in just 22 matches he has a hefty average of 3.863 a game. He is in pretty vintage form recently with nine yellows at Bristol City v Sheff Utd at the end of November and 20 yellow cards in four games so far this month. Of course he was in charge of our home game with Reading earlier this season where he sent two off, including our own Ben Watson for the heinous crime of taking a free kick too quickly. His rating of three leaves him rock bottom of the referee league, a position he is very familiar with on LFW.

Referee: Andy Hall (W Midlands) 3 I just don’t agree with his total, 100%, robotic, by the book approach to refereeing. On Saturday we said perhaps referee Russell Booth could have shown a few more yellow cards and let a few things go that he shouldn’t have done – I gave him a mark of eight. I would so much rather see play allowed to continue and cards stay firmly in pockets than watch a game refereed by a man who wants to get involved at every single turn. Hall is constantly looking for offences, constantly having to explain decisions to players. He’s whistle, whistle, whistle all the time and has all the common sense of a piece of old brick. People do not come to games to see people sent off and although both Ingimarsson and Watson were undoubtedly daft both could have stayed on the pitch in my opinion. A complete pain in the arse all night as always. LFW Reading Match Report

Last season he showed 111 yellows and four reds, including ten yellows in a single game between Tranmere and Oldham, in 32 matches – 3.468 a game. His last QPR game before this season was in 2007/08 against Leyton Orient in the League Cup when the lower division side left Loftus Road with a victory and a penalty kick in their favour. He was also in charge of another cup disaster of ours at Northampton in 2005 but is perhaps best remembered for sending off both Clarke Carlisle and Stephen Kelly in a crucial end of season promotion decider with Crewe in W12 in 2003 that left the R’s hanging on with nine men when a victory could have seen them fight for automatic promotion on the last day of the season. The yellow cards given that day, Clarke Carlisle was booked first for not retreating at a free kick when it was fired at him from a yard away a split second after he'd committed the foul and then for challenging the goalkeeper for a cross, were ridiculously harsh.

There was also an infamous game at Preston in 2004 when having awarded the home side a penalty they didn’t want, had he played advantage for two seconds they would have scored anyway, he then panicked when they missed the subsequent spot kick and within seconds awarded them a second one for a non-existent hand ball. They scored, QPR lost 2-1. Hall was also in the middle for the infamous 4-0 cup defeat at Swansea.

Referee - Andy Hall 2 A miserable, ugly, poor excuse for a human being who needs to be banned from coming near a competitive sporting fixture of any kind. I take salvation in the fact that his gross obesity will cause him enough health problems to hopefully retire him early from the game. LFW Northampton Match Report

Referee - Andy Hall 2 Andy Hall is infamous along the corridors of Loftus Road. I will not repeat his previous indiscretions here but suffice to say that when he was announced as the referee for this game I went to find the cat to kick her (I didn't!). Hall was quite anonymous in the first half letting the game flow but he cancelled all that out in the second half by being constantly fooled by Palace players falling over and by not giving us any crucial decisions - namely the two penalty shouts. The two points I have awarded here are for his reasonable first half performance and the other is for the fact that he did not send any of our players. LFW Palace Match Report, 2006

Hall finished bottom of the 2005/06 referee league with his average mark of two out of ten. He finished joint 15th in the 2007/08 league for his Orient performance.

Referee: Andy Hall 6 a couple of weird decisions and a slighlty dubious penalty at second look, but to be fair, at first look I would have given it! But surprisingly, not a bad game and he certainly tried to let the game flow when he could. LFW Orient Match Report

His overall QPR record is 13 games refereed, four QPR wins and five defeats, four QPR red cards and two opposition, and a staggering 37 QPR yellow cards (in just 13 games!) compared to just 11 for the opposition.

Elsewhere this Sunday Chris Foy has the task of keeping Man Utd v Leeds under control while Lee Probert has Tranmere v Wolves and Mark Clattenburg West Ham v Arsenal.

Photo: Action Images

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