Dale will meet yet another official in his first season on the National List when Sam Allison oversees the home game against Lincoln City on Saturday.

The Wiltshire referee was a regular at matches in the National League over the past four campaigns, before making the step-up to EFL level over the summer.

Sam’s promotion made the headlines as he became the first black referee in the professional game since Uriah Rennie 11 years ago.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53784107

A former semi-professional player who works in the fire service, Mr Allison’s first EFL appointment was Exeter v Forest Green in the Papa John’s Trophy, before he made his league bow at Port Vale v Crawley on the opening day of the season.

He has so far refereed two League One fixtures — Northampton v Charlton and Shrewsbury v Swindon — and last Sunday was in the middle for Stevenage v Hull in the FA Cup, a tie the League Two side won on penalties.

In total Sam’s 13 matches this term have yielded 36 yellow cards and no red.

Photo: Action Images

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