A third QPR appointment of the season already for young Sheffield referee Thomas Bramall, as the R’s head to Millwall on Boxing Day.

Referee >>> Thomas Bramall (Sheffield), refereed QPR’s opening day 4-0 loss at Watford and surprise 2-0 win at Middlesbrough.

Assistants >>> Matthew Wilkes (West Midlands) and Akil Howson (Leicestershire)

Fourth Official >>> Declan Bourne (Nottingham)

History

Middlesbrough 0 QPR 2, Saturday September 2, 2023, Championship

Boro: Dieng 5; McNair 4, Fry 5, Lenihan 5, Engel 3; Howson 5 (O’Brien 69, 6), Hackney 5; Silvera 5, Rogers 6 (Greenwood 58, 5), Jones 6 (McRee 58, 6); Lath 4 (Coburn 69, 5)

Subs not used: van den Berg, Barlaser, Gilbert, Glover, Bilongo

Bookings: Greenwood 77 (foul)

QPR: Begovic 8; Kakay 6, Fox 6 (Larkeche 85, -), Cook 7 (Clarke-Salter 45, 6); Smyth 8, Dozzell 8 (Duke-McKenna 85, -) Colback 8, Field 6, Paal 7; Chair 8 (Willock 85, -), Armstrong 6 (Kolli 72, 7)

Subs not used: Archer, Dixon-Bonner, Kelman, Adomah

Goals: Dozzell 43 (assisted Colback), Colback 71 (assisted Smyth)

Bookings: Colback 50 (foul), Chair 65 (foul)
Referee – Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) 7 Best game I’ve seen him have, though that’s not saying a lot. Six minutes added to the end of each half, given everything that went on in both, suggests they’ve already rowed back fairly substantially on this season’s trendy clampdown.

Watford 4 QPR 0, Saturday August 5, 2023, Championship

Sinclair Armstrong started the second half, and must do so from the beginning as soon as possible. Finally here was a player willing to do a bit of running, a bit of closing down, a bit of tackling. Somebody with a bit of personal and professional pride, who doesn’t think being 4-0 down to Watford at half time is acceptable, and isn’t having it. Who, when the goalkeeper goes down because his bloody eyelash has been knocked out of place, makes it his business to mark a card and boot said goalkeeper up in the air to show him what a proper foul looks and feels like first chance he gets. When Danananananana Bachmann insisted, and got, play be restarted with an uncontested Watford drop ball despite play being stopped with QPR on the attack, Armstrong wasn’t having that either, and booted off with both the Watford captain and the referee. Good. Fucking good. And you, Ilias Chair, Lyndon Dykes, coming across and telling him to leave it and calm down, well you can get into the sea and stay there. Never mind calm down, how about you two get mad? Senior players. How about you start smashing one or two up? Dykes went through on goal in the last minute and passed the ball sportingly back to the goalkeeper. Fucking calm down? Spare me. God, I wish Armstrong’s improvised chip of the keeper off a loose through ball had dropped into the net rather than wide. You can have two sweets from the jar Sinclair. No chocolate for the rest of you.

Watford: Bachmann 5; Ngakia 8, Porteus 6, Hoedt 6, Morris 6 (Andres 45, 6); Louza 9 (Kone 66, 6), Sierralta 7 (Livermore 66, 6), Dele-Bashiru 7 (Chakvetadze 66, 7); Sema 7, Bayo 7, Martins 8 (Kayembe 82, -)

Subs not used: Healey, Pollock, Asprilla, Hamer

Goals: Dele-Bashiru 1 (assisted Louza), Louza 20 (assisted Ngakia), Martins 38 (assisted Sema), Bayo 43 (assisted Sierralta)

Bookings: Morris 45+1 (foul)

QPR: Begovic 5; Kakay 2, Fox 3, Gubbins 2, Paal 2; Dozzell 2 (Dixon-Bonner 90+7, -), Field 3; Smyth 4 (Duke-McKenna 45, 6), Kelman 2 (Armstrong 45, 6), Chair 3 (Willock 90+7, -); Dykes 3

Subs not used: Archer, Larkerche, Adomah, Richards

Bookings: Armstrong 67 (foul), Field 76 (foul)

Referee – Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) 6 Adding seven minutes to that first half tantamount to a war crime.

QPR 0 West Brom 1, Saturday November 5, 2022, Championship

There were, as we’re already coming to expect from this young referee learning on the job and already three QPR games deep into the season, moments of immense frustration with the officiating. Assistant and referee, mic’d up and able to speak to each other, somehow still pointing the opposite way for simple decisions. Clear and obvious fouls, such as one on Ilias Chair on the edge of the box, awarded only after moments of long delay and rising confusion. Kyle Bartley goes down “injured” three feet from the touchline, everybody in the ground knows he’s clock running, referee initially refuses the physio permission to come on and demands the player move to the sideline as he was clearly physically able to do, then bottles it and reverses that position when he refuses instead of standing his ground, and lacking sufficient bollocks to do anything other than wave him immediately back onto the field as soon as the play restarted. Cheating, aided and abetted by the match official. There was to follow, the big brave yellow card for time-wasting in the 91st minute, by which time the job is done, it doesn’t fucking matter any more, and the card has no impact either as punishment or deterrent — cretinous. Albert Adomah, belatedly on from the bench, was hauled to the ground at the back post under a late cross by a defender that knew he was in trouble and wasn’t even looking at the ball — penalty decision bottled. The kid couldn’t even referee a minute’s silence properly.

QPR: Dieng 6; Laird 6 (Armstrong 90, -), Dickie 4, Balogun 5, Paal 6; Field 6, Iroegbunam 6 (Adomah 84, -), Amos 5 (Dozzell 61, 5); Chair 5, Dykes 6, Willock 5

Subs not used: Dunne, Archer, Thomas, Shodipo

Bookings: Field 68 (foul)

WBA: Palmer 6; Furlong 7, Bartley 8, O’Shea 7, Pieters 5 (Townsend 84, -); Yokuslu 7 (Livermore 90, -), Molumby 7; Wallace 7 (Gardner-Hickman 90, -), Swift 7, Diangana 6 (Thomas-Asante 64, 7); Phillips 6 (Reach 84, -)

Subs not used: Button, Rogic

Goals: Bartley 68 (assisted Swift)

Bookings: Pieters 16 (foul), Molumby 90+1 (time wasting)

Referee — Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) 5 Three times we’ve had this young official already this season, promoted to the Premier League in the summer. At Blackburn, against Reading, and here, he has bottled big decisions in all three games, either because he wasn’t confident enough in his own authority to give them (the John Buckley non-red card at Ewood Park where he reached for his pocket before realising he’d already booked him), or his positioning wasn’t adequate enough for him to see them properly (the ludicrous handball penalty v the Royals). The Albert Adomah penalty appeal late in this game is a mixture of both. His game management on things like play-acting and time wasting is exactly what it is — that of an inexperienced kid, being intimidated and taken to school by old pros like Kyle Bartley. Compare it, for instance, to how Andy Davies (not a particularly good Championship referee himself) dealt with these sorts of issues at Norwich in the week. His communication and coordination with his assistants is non-existent, resulting in frequent incidents where a throw in or free kick is given opposite ways by two officials, or only after an inordinate delay.

QPR 2 Reading 1, Friday October 7, 2022, Championship

Carroll’s opener was a blow, not least because while newly promoted Premier League referee Thomas Bramall was closer to the incident than Joao’s sock ties and showed eyes like a shit house rat to spot the contact and award the kick immediately, he’d only a few moments prior to that committed the cardinal refereeing sin of not looking through the play towards a linesman and been punished by missing a hand ball in the Reading box from Sam Hutchinson so blatant they were appealing for it on the International Space Station. Arm stretched out from his body, nobody around, Iroegbunam’s back post header collected, pulled into the body, and pushed out for a corner, all with a sweeping motion of the left arm. I just… I can’t speyk.

Thereafter, in front of the Sky cameras, of course, Bramall did that contrary referee thing of trying to show that he wouldn’t be bullied or cowed by a home crowd and the fact he’d given one penalty to the away team while missing a really fucking obvious one for the home. Carroll took a turn in absolutely rattling through the shins of Tyler Roberts close to the touchline on the stroke of half time and was given the benefit of the doubt with a yellow card four inches thick produced from the top pocket almost before the silly old cunt had hit the ground. Benefit of doubt was metered out almost as haphazardly as the advantage rule. Here goes Ilias Chair look, past one bloke that’s fouled him but he's kept it so we’re playing on, and then around another who’s fouled him too, but we’re playing on still, even though he’s now lost the ball almost immediately, and sorry mate I’d stay to give you an explanation for why that is but I think a Reading player might have been fouled over here now so I’m going to charge across and give a big, fuck off, free kick to them just to show how authoritative and in control of the game I am. Total, total penarse. Honestly, every week I’m sitting through things like this. I’m just going to leave the engine running one night. No funeral.

QPR: Dieng 7; Laird 6 (Kakay 26, 6), Dunne 7, Clarke-Salter 7, Paal 6; Iroegbunam 7, Field 6 (Dickie 69, 6), Johansen 6 (Dozzell 74, 6); Roberts 6 (Amos 74, 6), Dykes 7, Chair 7

Subs not used: Archer, Adomah, Shodipo

Goals: Dykes 33 (assisted Kakay), 84 (penalty, won Iroegbunam)

Bookings: Iroegbunam 53 (foul)

Reading: Lumley 7; Yiadom 5, Hutchinson 5 (Hoilett 39, 6), Holmes 5, McIntyre 6, Guinness-Walker 7; Hendrick 5, Loum 4, Fornah 6 (Ejaria 70, 5); Carroll 7, Joao 6 (Ince 75, 6)

Subs not used: Meite, Bouzanis, Mbengue, Abbey

Goals: Carroll 30 (penalty, won Joao)

Bookings: Hutchinson 25 (foul), Carroll 45 (foul), Holmes 83 (being a knob)

Referee — Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) 5 A depressing experience. Despite a slew of retirements from the likes of Mike Dean, Kevin Friend and Jon Moss last season this guy was the only EFL referee they deemed worthy and capable of being promoted into the top flight. I look at this performance in that context and just despair. If you want to tell me that Carroll rattling through Roberts’ shins is ok, and a yellow card, rather than a red, then ok, fair enough, I usually like to go lenient cards wise too, so perhaps. Likewise the Reading penalty, which I’ve already discussed. But for Hutchinson to be able to stand in the Reading penalty box, with nobody anywhere near him, stick his arm out and bat the ball out for a corner, look guilty as fuck, and neither a Premier League referee nor either Premier League linesman sees it or does a thing about it is just scandalous really. I’ve a dead grandmother, six foot under the ground, 200 miles away at the other end of the country, who could see that was a fucking penalty. Exasperating. It is absolutely not as difficult as these people make it look, I’m sorry.

Blackburn 1 QPR 0, Saturday July 30, 2022, Championship

Let’s blow the dust of this old chestnut as well, while we’re here. How nice are QPR? What a lovely, lovely group of young men we are. Beaten all ends up by Ilias Chair after ten minutes, John Buckley chopped him down and took his yellow medicine from referee Thomas Bramall. Quarter of an hour later, Rangers well on top at this point, Buckley was done again, this time by Mide Shodipo, and to stop him accelerating away into space he deliberately pulled him back by the shirt. Now, come on, what are we doing here? I’ve sat here and tapped away that QPR players getting booked for shit like that in the middle of the park could consider themselves unfortunate, the decision harsh, and been told categorically ‘no — if you’re beaten, and you deliberately pull that player back, you can expect a yellow no complaints at all’. Here, a warning on the run. And nobody is saying anything. Not one of our players, captain or otherwise, doing a damn thing about it. We should be screaming for this stuff. On the hour, Sam Gallagher, last seen booting our goalkeeper out of the second half of last season, put a horrible tackle in on Sam Field — clear yellow. Again, word on the run. Again, we just accept that. Later at QPR free kicks Gallagher started with the picking-the-ball-up-and-running-off-with-it shit again, and sitting down pretending to be injured delaying the restart — did somebody mention a clamp down on clock running? I see no clamp down here. But more to the point, I see and hear no QPR complaints about it either. I’m not asking for the Matt Mills Bank Holiday Parade of Cuntery, people surrounding officials and screaming in their face about every little thing, but we just let this shit happen to us. Footballers are never going to care about this as much as we do in the stand, they come and go and play for many clubs, we are the constant and are way too emotionally invested in the outcome. Marc Bircham, Kevin Gallen, Lee Cook, when you get these people at your club it’s a rare and beautiful thing. I don’t expect Stefan Johansen to be as cross about it as I am, but I do expect him to be a little bit cross all the same. Get mad for fuck’s sake, get mad. He's screwing your wife and you’re standing there waiting to hand him a towel.
Blackburn: Kaminski 6; Brittain 6, Ayala 6, S Wharton 6, Pickering 6; Travis 7, Buckley 6; Gallagher 5, Hedges 6, Brereton-Diaz 7; Vale 5 (Dolan 64, 7)

Subs not used: Edun, Pears, Markanday, Dack, Barnes, A Wharton

Goals: Travis 34 (unassisted)

Bookings: Buckley 11 (foul)

QPR: Dieng 5; Kakay 6, Dickie 6, Clarke-Salter 6, Paal 5; Dozzell 5 (Thomas 64, 5), Johansen 5 (Armstrong 77, 5), Field 6; Chair 5 (Richards 77, 6), Dykes 5 (Bonne 77, 5), Shodipo 6 (Adomah 65, 5)

Subs not used: Walsh, Dunne

Bookings: Dykes 12 (foul)

Referee - Thomas Bramall (Sheffield) 5 Interesting one. QPR strike me as a very easy team to referee at the moment, particularly once we’re behind in a game. The heads go down, the team goes quiet, nobody’s smashing anybody, nobody’s complaining about things — a referee can pretty much cruise through our matches, and I think that’s what this new Premier League referee attempted to do here, settling for a word on the run when many would have produced yellow cards. Usually I much prefer that approach, but I personally don’t see how Buckley was allowed to commit the deliberate pull back on Shodipo on 27 minutes, after being booked, without being sent off — nor why QPR are so happy to just meekly accept that this is going on. A really bad tackle by Sam Gallagher was also let off without a card just before the hour mark. Gallagher then started engaging in all the running off with the ball at QPR free kicks, and sitting down pretending he’s injured when he’s not, clock running stuff that we’re told there’s a clampdown on this season — again, no cards, and no complaints. QPR should be, nee need to be, screaming for this stuff. Why does an early yellow card give Buckley immunity for the rest of the game? Why are you letting Gallagher do that? I think I’m as pissed off with us as I am with the referee to be honest. Waaaaaaaaay too nice.

Stats

Bramall, 32, stepped out of the National League and into the EFL for the 2018/19 season where he took charge of a chunky 44 games and showed a lenient 102 yellows and three reds, mostly in League Two. His 2019/20 season was restricted to five outings by an ACL rupture that threatened his career. Coming back from that, and the Covid break, he refereed 33 games showing 78 yellows and four reds in 2020/21, a season that included his Championship debut in Luton’s 1-0 win at Preston, and a League Two play-off semi-final between Morecambe and Tranmere.

In 21/22, his first as a regular Championship official, he booked 105 and sent six off in 33 games — totals boosted substantially by three red cards shown in West Brom’s 1-1 draw with Cardiff. Two of those red cards came in a brawl after the final whistle when West Brom felt they had a stone wall penalty but the referee chose to blow for full time instead. He finished the season with the MK Dons v Wycombe League One play-off semi-final, and the FA Trophy final between Bromley and Wrexham. He was fast tracked onto the Premier League list last summer.

His appointments through 22/23 make for an eclectic read. There was a Premier League debut at Fulham 2-1 Brighton at the end of August, and he oversaw eight top flight games in his 33 appointments overall. Two of those came in Japan’s J League – Gamba Osaka 2-2 Consadole Sapporo and Kashiwa Reysol 0-3 Urawa Red Diamonds – as part of a refereeing exchange programme in March. Overall he showed 100 yellows and two reds (3.03 bookings a game).

A dozen appointments so far this season, including four in the Premier League, with 48 yellows and one red. Eight yellows in Bournemouth’s pre-Christmas 2-2 with Villa leads the way by a chunky margin. He was with Millwall very recently, for a 3-1 loss at Ipswich on November 29 – the Lions are yet to win with this official with two draws and a defeat from four games. QPR are 2-0-3 from five.

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