Thomas Bramall will referee Dale for the first time in over two years when we entertain Charlton Athletic in League One on Saturday.
The Sheffield official last appeared at the Crown Oil Arena on Boxing Day 2018 when he took charge of Dale’s 2-1 win over Blackpool.
Seven weeks earlier, he had refereed Dale’s Checkatrade Trophy home tie versus Leicester City U21, which the visitors won on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Mr Bramall is in his third season on the National List, although injury kept him sidelined for much of last term.
However, he has returned to full fitness this year and Saturday will be his 20th game of the season.
The majority of those appointments have been in League One and League Two, including Oldham v Salford last weekend.
All told, Thomas’s 19 fixtures since September have seen him show 42 yellow cards and four red cards.