Sam Purkiss will referee Dale for only the second time when we travel to Walsall on Saturday.

The London official is in his third season on the National List and his only previous Dale appointment was just over a year ago at Burton, where Matty Lund scored in our 1-0 win.

Promoted from the National League at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, Sam began his EFL life at Exeter v Macclesfield in August 2019.

He has continued to referee throughout League One and League Two since then, with several EFL Trophy and FA Cup ties thrown in for good measure.

This season Sam has refereed 13 matches, which have yielded 47 yellow cards and three red. His appointments have taken from London to such diverse locations as Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Tranmere and Sunderland.

Photo: Action Images

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