The match officials have now been confirmed for the League One tie between Lincoln City and Bristol Rovers at Sincil Bank on Saturday 16th March (15:00).
Referee: Scott Simpson.
Assistant Referee: Danny Jarvis.
Assistant Referee: Jonathon Block.
Fourth Official: Anthony Da Costa.
NEW QUIZ: How much can you remember from the last time The Imps played Bristol Rovers at Sincil Bank? Have a go at the quiz at the bottom of the page or simply CLICK HERE (opens in a new window)!
You can discuss this refereeing appointment here, and get involved with our pre-match discussion!
This will be only the second time Scott Simpson has been the man in the middle for a match involving Lincoln City and his first time for a match involving Bristol Rovers, having only been promoted to the National Group by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) ahead of the start of the current season.
His only match involving The Imps was the 1-0 defeat away at Stevenage in League One back in November when he showed just 2 yellow cards, including a booking for Adam Jackson. He received an average rating of 3.375 following this match. Some of the comments provided by our members can be found below.
PerthImp: “4 – didn’t do too bad first half but second half he let so many fouls go it was ridiculous.”
HitherImp: “3 – anyone that gets me shouting at the screen is bad news. And this one was bad news. Not a clue, a definite homer and his assistants didn’t help one iota.”
GrotierBranfootLeigh: “It was very difficult for the referee with Evans and Rayner constantly being in his face, and the Stevenage players whingeing, whining and rolling around at every opportunity. He didn’t give them the big decisions they wanted but as the game went on he weakened and gave them more and more of the run-of-the-mill ones which helped the tide turn totally in their favour. 3/10.”
Scott Simpson oversaw a total of 18 matches during the 2022/23 season, 17 of which were in the Conference and the other in League Two. He showed 75 yellow cards (4.17) and 4 red cards. He showed 9 cards on two occasions (8 yellow cards and 1 red card): Bromley 4-0 Solihull Moors (Conference), including a booking for former Imps defender Callum Howe, and AFC Wimbledon 1-5 Swindon Town (League Two), including a booking for former Stevenage loanee Remeao Hutton.
Simpson has been the man with the whistle on 24 occasions so far this season, showing 118 yellow cards (4.92) and 9 red cards. He has shown 2 red cards on two occasions this season: Salford City 0-2 Notts County in League Two (7 yellow cards and 2 red cards) and Cheltenham Town 2-0 Oxford United in League One (7 yellow cards and 2 red cards, including a booking for former Imps midfielder Tom Pett). Please note: this has been updated after he refereed the League Two match between Newport County and Morecambe on Tuesday evening.
Sources: English Football League and Soccerbase.
