Blackpool referee Leigh Doughty, in his second season on the Championship list, gets his first QPR game against Bristol City on Saturday - the visitors have less than happy memories of him last season.
Referee >>> Leigh Doughty (Blackpool)
Assistants >>> Natalie Aspinall (Blackpool) and Adrian Waters (Hertfordshire)
Fouth Official >>> Sunny Gill (Feltham)
First QPR appointment.
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. Natalie Aspinall, a fellow Blackpool official, was elevated at the same time and runs the line with him at Loftus Road tomorrow. That included three Bristol City games — a 2-2 draw at Barnsley where he awarded the hosts an injury time penalty, a 2-0 loss at Rotherham, and a 2-1 home win against League One Portsmouth in the FA Cup. So far this season he’s shown 21 yellows and one red in five matches, three of those in the Championship including the midweek draw between Stoke and Barnsley which included three red cards for coaching staff after a touchline fracas over time wasting late in the game.
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