Dale’s home fixture against Morecambe on Good Friday will be refereed by DECLAN BOURNE.

The Nottinghamshire police officer is in his sixth season on the National List and this will be his ninth Dale appointment and the fourth in the last 14 months.

We last saw Declan at Spotland in October when he was in the middle for the FA Cup fourth qualifying round defeat to York City.

On this weekend a year ago, Declan refereed the FA Trophy semi-final against Spennymoor Town (both halves), while two months earlier he had been in the middle for our 1-1 draw at Southend United.

Mr Bourne was also at Spotland in December 2022 when he officiated the terrible 4-1 loss to Harrogate Town in League Two and in the previous April, Declan refereed a 0-0 home draw versus Swindon Town.

In October 2021, he was in the middle at Barrow where a mopping up operation by the Holker Street groundstaff (and Henry Hoover) allowed the game to take place, albeit after a 30-minute delay.

Dale won that match 2-1, as they did at Bristol Rovers in January 2021 in a behind closed doors fixture with the same referee.

Two months before that game, Mr Bourne was at Spotland, where a customary injury-time goal for AFC Wimbledon gave them a 1-0 victory over Brian Barry-Murphy’s hapless Rochdale team.

Saturday will be Declan’s eighth National League appointment of the season, coming a week after he refereed Halifax v Scunthorpe.

He has also officiated in League One and League Two, and will oversee Fleetwood v Barnet on Easter Monday.

PREVIOUS DALE GAMES
Nov 2020 Dale 0, AFC Wimbledon 1
Jan 2021 Bristol Rovers 1, Dale 2
Oct 2021 Barrow 1, Dale 2
Apr 2022 Dale 0, Swindon 0
Dec 2022 Dale 1, Harrogate 4
Feb 2025 Southend 1, Dale 1
Apr 2025 Dale 2, Spennymoor 2 (FA Trophy)
Oct 2025 Dale 1, York 2 (FA Cup)

Photo: Action Images via Reuters