Ollie Yates is the referee when Dale return to the Crown Oil Arena against Crawley Town on Saturday.

The Staffordshire official is in his sixth season on the referees’ list, but this will be only his fifth Dale appointment.

In April 2018 he refereed the disappointing 1-1 home draw with Bradford, where an injury-time fumble by Josh Lillis allowed Charlie Wyke to stab home the equaliser for The Bantams.

Eight months later, Ollie was back at the Crown Oil Arena for the goalless draw with Luton, while in December 2019 he was in charge of the 2-1 FA Cup replay win at Boston that earned Dale a home tie versus Newcastle in round three.

Mr Yates’ most recent Dale appointment was against Gillingham at the Crown Oil Arena last December, where a disastrous first half performance saw Dale trail 3-0 at the interval, before eventually losing 4-1.

Ollie’s first two seasons at this level were blighted by injuries, which also seem to have afflicted him this term as this will be his first game of the campaign. He was appointed to Bolton v Barnsley in the Carabao Cup in August, only to be replaced by David Webb.

However, last season he officiated at 32 matches in all competitions, showing 105 yellow cards and three reds.

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