Ben Toner will referee Dale’s first game of the season when they make the short trip to Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.
The Darwen official has been a regular at our matches since he joined the National List in 2015, the most recent of which was the goalless draw at Shrewsbury just over a year ago.
A science teacher at Fleetwood High School, Ben’s first Dale game was also at Shrewsbury, but on that occasion in March 2016 we lost 2-0 after a disappointing display.
In 2018/19 we saw Mr Toner three times, including the final home match of the campaign when Dale defeated Southend 1-0 to confirm their League One status.
He was also the man in the middle for the 2-1 Carabao Cup loss at Middlesbrough early in that season.
Ben’s most dramatic Dale appointment came in September 2017 when two injury time goals helped us to a thrilling 2-1 home win over Doncaster.
All told, Toner has refereed nine previous Dale games:
Mar 2016 v Shrewsbury (a), L 0-2
Dec 2016 v Scunthorpe (h), W 3-2
Sep 2017 v Doncaster (h), W 2-1
Jan 2018 v Lincoln (h, CT), L 0-1
Feb 2018 v Wigan (a), L 0-1
Aug 2018 v Middlesbrough (a, CC), L 1-2
Oct 2018 v Bradford (a), W 2-0
Apr 2019 v Southend (h), W 1-0
Aug 2019 v Shrewsbury (a), D 0-0
Last season he refereed 28 matches, showing 94 yellow cards and six red.