Dale’s home game against FC Halifax Town on Wednesday will be refereed by SCOTT OLDHAM.
Mr Oldham was a regular in the middle at our matches in the Football League, and Wednesday is the second time we have seen him in the National League now that the two separate lists of match officials are combined into one.
That game was at Spotland in January, where Dale scored four times in the second half to inflict a 4-0 defeat on Yeovil Town.
Scott’s final Dale appointment in the EFL was that fateful day at Stockport in April 2023 when our relegation was confirmed after a 1-0 loss to The Hatters.
Saturday will be Mr Oldham’s 15th Dale appointment, going back to when he joined the list ahead of the 2017/18 campaign
The self-employed joiner from Poulton-le-Fylde first refereed us in October 2017, overseeing a 1-0 home win over Bristol Rovers, although on that occasion he was a late replacement for Tom Nield.
Scott returned to Spotland in March 2018 for a 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon and then three weeks later, he was an 11th hour replacement for Andy Haines in Dale’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Portsmouth in which Matt Done scored a heart-breaking injury-time own goal.
Mr Oldham appeared at Spotland again in October 2018 for a 3-2 loss to Doncaster, before taking charge at Walsall four months later where both Ethans – Ebanks-Landell and Hamilton – were on target in Dale’s 2-1 defeat of The Saddlers.
In November 2019, he was in the middle when Ipswich won 1-0 at Spotland on their first-ever visit to our part of Lancashire, before refereeing three of our games in the 2020/21 campaign.
Two of those appointments were both league fixtures against Accrington – Dale losing 2-1 at the Wham Stadium, but winning 3-1 at Spotland – and the FA Cup first round loss at home to Stockport County.
Full List of Dale Appointments
Oct 2017 v Bristol R (h), W 1-0
Mar 2018 v AFC Wimbledon (h), D 1-1
Apr 2018 v Portsmouth (h), D 3-3
Oct 2018 v Doncaster R (h), L 2-3
Feb 2019 v Walsall (a), W 2-1
Nov 2019 v Ipswich T (h), L 0-1
Oct 2020 v Accrington S (a), L 1-2
Nov 2020 v Stockport C (h, FAC), L 1-2
Apr 2021 v Accrington S (h), W 3-1
Aug 2021 v Shrewsbury T (a, CC), W 2-0
Nov 2021 v Stevenage (h), D 2-2
Aug 2022 v Burton (h, CC), W 2-0
Apr 2023 v Stockport (a), L 0-1
Jan 2025 v Yeovil T (h), W 4-0
Scott’s most prestigious appointment came in April 2024 when he was appointed to the EFL Trophy Final at Wembley between Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers.
Before Saturday, when he was due at Northampton Town v BBC Radio Bolton, Mr Oldham had refereed eight matches in League One, League Two and the Carabao Cup this season, showing 34 yellow cards and one red.
One of those games was the recent League One fixture between Bradford City and Huddersfield Town, which attracted over 24,000 fans to Valley Parade.