The Imps take on Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium in League One this afternoon, with the match kicking off at 15:00.
You can discuss this refereeing appointment HERE, as well as get involved with our Cambridge United v Lincoln City Match Thread, and our pre-match threads: You can post your score predictions, discuss the starting XI, and predict the attendance!
Referee: Sam Allison.
Assistants Referees: Damith Bandara and Leigh Crowhurst.
Fourth Official: Michael George.
Cambridge United (a - 03/09/22): Will The Imps Win, Lose or Draw?
Win
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Sam Allison was promoted to the Football League by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited ahead of the 2020/21 season, following four seasons as a referee in the National League.
Sam Allison is a former semi-professional player and combines working for the fire service with his refereeing career, which he started in 2011.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Allison said: “For me, it’s one of the first times in a long while that I’ve enjoyed the moment, because one of the negatives I have about myself is that I’m so self-critical, as I feel that I want to make such a difference.”
Sam Allison has been the man in the middle for four matches involving Lincoln City:
11/02/17: Lincoln City 3-2 Woking (Conference) – 3 yellow cards
29/04/17: Southport 1-1 Lincoln City (Conference) – 4 yellow cards
05/12/20: Rochdale 0-2 Lincoln City (League One) – 3 yellow cards
22/02/22: Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Lincoln City (League One) – 3 yellow cards
TOTALS: Matches: 4 — Yellow Cards: 13 — Red Cards: 0
He received an average rating of 5.94 following the 3-1 defeat away at Bolton Wanderers last season. Some of the comments can be found below:
Rasenimp: “I found him infuriating. So many soft free kicks when there was barely any contact or for fair challenges. Didn’t help the game.
Also bizarrely reticent to book their players for stopping counters, despite thinking breathing on a player is a foul. Then when he booked bakayoko it was a foul far less egregious than the Jones fouls on scully and Bishop which stopped attacks.
He didn’t have a complete howler, but I think that was more because he didn’t have a big decision to make, thankfully.
3/10.”
Eweimps: “Started poorly when a card should have been out in the first few minutes, wasn’t consistent in his awarding of free kicks and seemed to give us very little. 4.5/10.”
Chesterimp: “Inconsistent. Interestingly, in the light of the ‘homer’ comment (I know the rules, but bear with) I thought the opposite, Bolton fans were shouting for every contact on theirs, grumbling at every foul against theirs irrespective and we got a few FKs which a weaker ref would have let go. He p’d them off across the 90 and stood up pretty well to the ridiculous pressure the home support was putting on him.
For that alone, the fussiness fades. 8.”
Sam Allison: 2022/23 Stats:
27/08/22: Stockport County 1-1 Swindon Town (League Two) – 4 yellow cards and 1 red card
30/08/22: Crawley Town 2-2 Portsmouth (EFL Trophy) – 3 yellow cards
TOTALS: Matches: 2 — Yellow Cards: 7 — Red Cards: 1
Sam Allison was the man in the middle for 31 matches last season. In those matches, he showed 126 yellow cards and 7 red cards.
He was most card happy in the League Two encounter between Swindon Town and Leyton Orient (1-2) when he showed 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, including a booking for former Imp Theo Archibald.
Allison oversaw 35 matches during his first season in the Football League (2020/21), showing 102 yellow cards and only 1 red card.
He showed 5 yellow cards on three occasions: Portsmouth 0-1 Blackpool and Peterborough United 0-1 Gillingham in League One, and Leyton Orient 2-3 Carlisle United in League Two.
Sources: The Football League, BBC Sport & Soccer Base.
Cambridge United (a): Today's Match Officials:https://t.co/IDZstxuGrA#CamUTD #ImpsAsOne #WeAreImps
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) September 3, 2022
