Dale’s home game against Wealdstone on Saturday evening will be refereed by JACOB MILES.

Probably one of the fittest referees on the list, Jacob is a marathon runner and triathlete. He also umpires tennis at the highest level, having worked at 18 Grand Slams world-wide, while at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, he was a Chair Umpire. (The person on the high chair above the net!)

Saturday will be the Rugby-based official’s second Dale game, but his first at the Crown Oil Arena. His previous Dale appointment was for our 2-1 defeat at Barnet in October 2024.

Mr Miles joined the National List ahead of the 2023/24 season and has mainly refereed in League One and League Two since then, with only a couple of National League appointments – the aforementioned Barnet v Dale game and Southend v York earlier in this campaign.

This season has also seen him referee three times in the Championship as part of a Development Group, although the last of those appointments was in mid-December at Wrexham v Watford.

Indeed, Saturday will be Jacob’s first match since 4th January – when he was injured during the Reading v Stockport game – and his 23 outings this season have seen him produce 95 yellow cards and eight red cards

Photo: Action Images via Reuters