Rookie referee Darren England, previously a Premier League linesman, makes his first ever appearance in the middle of a Championship game at QPR Cardiff this weekend.

Referee >>> Darren England (Barnsley), better known as an assistant referee this is his second full season as the man in the middle.

Assistants >>> Daniel Leach (Oxfordshire) and Timothy Wood (Gloucestershire)

Fourth Official >>> Tim Robinson (West Sussex), pain in the arse during our home match with Wolves this season.

History

No previous QPR appointments.

Stats

England was fast tracked from local football in South Yorkshire onto the assistant referees list in the professional ranks at a relatively young age, and made his Premier League debut in QPR’s 3-2 win at Stoke City under Neil Warnock in 2011 aged just 24. He ran the line for the FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa aged 29 two years ago before hanging his flag up to start moving up the ranks as a referee.

He started with a bang in 2015/16, his first full one on the Football League list, with ten yellow cards in just his second match — Accrington v Mansfield in League Two — and showed five red cards in his first 14 games but he’s calmed down considerably since then. He finished last season with 97 yellows and six reds in 30 appointments.

A theme of firsts for England involving QPR continues this weekend as he referees a Championship match for the first time as the R’s face Cardiff. He’s been refereeing League One and Two games this season showing 86 yellows and seven reds in 32 appointments — two of those reds coming last time out at Crewe v Stevenage.

Other Listings

Championship >>> The promotion-chasing clash between Huddersfield and Newcastle has gone the way of occasional Premier League official Roger East.

League Two >>> Our old mate Gavin Ward has Newport v Orient.

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Pictures — Action Images

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