Two new referees in the Championship
Next season will see our games refereed for the first time by a body of officials who are members of Select Group 2 which was introduced as a group ahead of the 2016/17 Championship season.
In general, we will find our games next season refereed by this group along with the potential to get Premier League referees from the Select Group on occasions. Sixteen of the Select Group took charge of Championship games at times last season with the lesser lights such as Simon Hooper and Rob Jones, to name just two, hitting double figures.
James Bell, like Bramall from Sheffield, has just two years experience in the Football League, refereeing his first game in League Two between Grimsby and Harrogate in September 2020. He is still to referee a Championship game.
Promoted with him is another Yorkshire based referee. That’s Bobby Madley (pictured) who reached the Select Group in 2013 only to lose his place in 2018 for a non-football matter. He returned to the national list two years ago and the younger brother of Premier League referee Andy Madley now takes a step up after two seasons in the bottom two divisions of the league.
Bell has never refereed a Burnley game but Madley, from Ossett in West Yorkshire, has refereed us on twelve occasions. Six of those were in the Premier League, the most recent of them a 2-1 home defeat against Chelsea in April 2018.
The 2022/23 Select Group 2 Referees
James Bell
Darren Bond
John Busby
Andy Davies
Matt Donohue
Leigh Doughty
Geoff Eltringham
Oliver Langford
James Linington
Bobby Madley
Steve Martin
Tim Robinson
Jeremy Simpson
Josh Smith
Keith Stroud
Gavin Ward
David Webb
Dean Whitestone
Andy Woolmer
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