With the Championship season now reaching it’s climax, the spotlight is upon those teams competing at both the top and bottom of the table as fans eagerly await confirmation of which clubs will be leaving the division next month.
While those clubs challenging for promotion and battling for league safety must perform well, clubs also hope for consistent reliable decisions from match officials.
The72 takes a look at the division’s referees to analyse just how well they have performed so far this season.
A total of 64 different referees have taken charge of matches in the Championship this season with experienced whistler Keith Stroud refereeing more league fixtures than any other official (21 matches). Unsurprisingly, Stroud has awarded more cards than any other referee with 89 yellows and seven reds. Geoff Eltringham is also a stern official with the County Durham referee issuing 38 cards in just 12 Championship matches.
Keith Stroud again tops the statistics for the most fouls awarded with a total of 529 free kicks given, a considerably higher number than any of the other Championship officials.
Cheshire born whistler Mike Jones has averaged the most cautions per match after issuing an average of 6.0 yellow cards per match this season while Jon Moss has issued 5.50 cautions per match. Veteran official Trevor Kettle has brandished four red cards in his five matches in the middle while Michael Bull has dismissed three players in four Championship matches. Bull has also given the greatest average of fouls per match (31.25 per game).
As the Championship season draws to a close, clubs will be hoping to pass the finishing line with a bang with the help of plenty of reliable refereeing decisions.
