Preston referee Michael Salisbury will be the man in the middle for Tuesday’s rearranged match against AFC Wimbledon

Mr Salisbury is in his third season on the National List and this will be the third time he has refereed a Rochdale game.

He was first in the middle for last season’s Boxing Day trip to Blackburn, while back in August Michael was at the Crown Oil Arena for Dale’s disappointing 4-0 loss to Barnsley.

He has since been back here for two fourth official appointments at Dale’s league fixture versus Doncaster in October and last month’s Checkatrade Trophy tie against Manchester City U21.

In 2014/15, Michael was promoted to a Premier League assistant referee and during that time he also joined the FIFA list, officiating at games in Malta and France.

However, in 2016 he opted to follow the refereeing route and after promotion to the National List, he kicked-off his league career with a game between Leyton Orient and Newport.

A PE teacher at Parklands High School in Chorley, Michael has refereed up and down the country in League One and League Two since then, with appointments taking him to such diverse locations as Oldham, Oxford, Carlisle, Bristol Rovers, Stevenage, Exeter, Haringey and Bury!

As is also often the case, Mr Salisbury has followed in the refereeing footsteps of his father, Graham Salisbury, who has officiated many Dale games down the years.

His most recent appointment was Lincoln v Northampton on 9th February and in 30 matches this term, Michael has shown 86 yellow cards and four red.

Photo: Action Images

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