Six weeks after refereeing Dale’s 2-0 defeat at Bradford, James Bell will be the man in the middle for Tuesday’s FA Cup first round replay at Notts County.

The Sheffield official is in his second season on the National List and this will be his fourth Dale appointment in that time.

Last October James was at the Crown Oil Arena for the exciting 2-2 home draw with Sunderland, while in March, he refereed Dale’s 2-0 defeat at champions Hull City.

James’ first game at EFL level was Grimsby v Harrogate in the EFL Trophy in September 2020, before he refereed Mansfield v Tranmere on the opening day of the last league season.

He progressed to take charge of 31 games in all competitions last term, showing 85 yellow cards and nine reds.

Before Friday night, when he was due at Bolton v Crewe, Mr Bell had refereed 16 matches this season, showing 50 yellow cards.

Tuesday’s game at Meadow Lane will feel like a relatively short trip for him because James’ other appointments have seen him travel from Sheffield to places like Forest Green, MK Dons, Wycombe, Cardiff, Charlton, Cambridge, Stevenage and AFC Sudbury, for their FA Cup first round tie versus Colchester.

Photo: Action Images

Rochdale Polls