Blackpool referee Leigh Doughty, in his third season on the Championship list, takes QPR’s trip to Stoke this Saturday.

Referee >>> Leigh Doughty (Blackpool)

Assistants >>> Philip Dermott (Lancashire) and Greg Read (Surrey)

Fouth Official >>> Josh Smith (Lincolnshire)

History

QPR 1 Blackburn 3, Saturday February 25, 2023, Championship

QPR: Dieng 4; Kakay 5, Dickie 2, Dunne 3, Paal 4; Iroegbunam 5 (Richards (!!) 88, -), Johansen 5, Field 5; Lowe 3, Martin 5 (Adomah 75, 2), Chair 5 (Dozzell 35, 3)

Subs not used: Amos, Archer, Dickson-Bonner, Gubbins

Goals: Iroegbunam 24 (unassisted)

Bookings: Johansen 37 (foul), Kakay 57 (deliberate handball), Field 59 (foul), Lowe 66 (foul)

Blackburn: Pears N/A; Rankin-Costello 8, Carter 6, Hyam 7, Brittain 6; Travis 7, Buckley 7 (Phillips 90+5, -); Thomas 7, Szmodics 7 (Hedges 69, 6), Dolan 7 (Morton 80, -); Gallagher 8

Subs not used: Pickering, Brereton, Garrett, Hilton

Goals: Gallagher 14 (assisted Dolan), 60 (assisted Rankin-Costello), Szmodics 45+2 (assisted Travis)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 7 An afternoon spent judging whether QPR’s desperate attempts to literally hang onto the coat tails of their opponent were worthy of yellow cards or not.

Huddersfield 2 QPR 2, Friday April 15, 2022, Championship

Huddersfield: Nicholls 6; Turton 7 (Avila 89, -), Lees 6, Colwill 7, Toffolo 7; Hogg 7, Russell 6; Sinani 5 (Anjorin 75, 5), O’Brien 6, Thomas 6; Ward 5 (Holmes 46, 5)

Subs not used: Rhodes, Koroma, Blackman, Sarr

Goals: Barbet og 6 (assisted Hogg), Toffolo 53 (assisted Turton)

Bookings: O’Brien 64 (foul), Holmes 66 (foul), Thomas 90+1 (foul)

QPR: Westwood 6; Odubajo 7, Dunne 5, Barbet 5, McCallum 7; Field 7, Amos 7 (Adomah 85, -), Dozzell 6, Chair 8; Thomas 7 (Gray 83, -), Dykes 6 (Austin 83, -)

Subs not used: Johansen, Ball, Sanderson, Mahoney

Goals: Amos 43 (assisted McCallum), Chair 57 (assisted Odubajo)

Bookings: Austin 90+2 (foul), Field 90+5 (foul)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 8 Very good.

QPR 1 Bristol City 2, Saturday September 18, 2021, Championship

The afternoon ticking on through five minutes of added time, and QPR seemingly were to be left frustrated with their point. They’d had 26 shots, and 11 on target, to Bristol City’s nine and soon to be three. Johansen’s challenge on Massengo barely existed, and the free kick awarded by the corner flag was a rare misstep from excellent new referee Leigh Doughty — Johansen’s yellow for dissent puts him on four already for the campaign as he races towards a one match ban.

QPR: Dieng 6; Odubajo 5 (Adomah 65, 6), Dickie 6, De Wijs 6, Barbet 6, McCallum 7; Johansen 7; Chair 6, Willock 7; Dykes 5 (Ball 80, -), Gray 6 (Austin 64, 5)

Subs not used: Thomas, Dozzell, Dunne, Walsh

Goals: McCallum 54 (unassisted)

Bookings: Gray 51 (foul), Barbet 79 (foul), Ball 85 (foul), Johansen 90 (dissent)

Bristol City: Bentley 9; Tanner 6, Kalas 7, Atkinson 7, Baker 6 (Dasilva 45, 6), Pring 6 (Semenyo 71, 6); James 6, Bakinson 7, Messengo 8; Martin 6 (Wells 62, 7), Weimann 7

Subs not used: Simpson, Williams, O’Leary, Palmer

Goals: Martin 44 (assisted Messengo/Weimann), Wells 90+3 (assisted Weimann)

Bookings: Bakinson 53 (foul)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 8 You’re never going to agree with everything, and nor is a referee going to get everything right — the late decision against Johansen resulting in a booking for dissent was a bit of a joke, and many of the the usual complaints about lack of action on time wasting apply — but overall I rated this the best refereeing display we’ve had this season. Calm, unfussy, uninvolved, right up and on top of play, built like an absolute brick shit-house, very confident and assured. Absolute chalk and cheese from the Keith Stroud-chaired chimp’s tea party on Tuesday night and easy to see why he’s been promoted four levels in five years.

Stats

A rapid rise up the ranks for 31-year-old Doughty who joined the EFL list in 2019/20 and was given a League Two play-off date between Cheltenham and Northampton at the end of a first season which included 82 yellows (3.03) and two reds in 27 appointments. He was promoted to the Championship for the start of 2020/21, a fourth elevation in as many seasons for the PE teacher, and finished up with 81 yellows (3.24) and four reds in 25 outings. Last season he concluded on 118 yellows and four reds in 32 games, and he’s been rather more prolific this season with 145 yellows and five reds in 31 outings — totals boosted substantially by 21 yellows and a red in his first four games of the season and a recent hefty haul of eight at Stoke 0-1 Preston in the Ben Pearson derby. Stoke won 1-0 at Blackburn, 3-0 at Hull and lost 1-0 at home to PNE in his three appointments with them this season leaving them with a 2-3-1 record while QPR are 0-1-2.

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