The Football League has now announced the officials that will take charge of the match between Lincoln City and Ipswich Town in League One.
Lincoln City host Ipswich Town on Monday, January 2 at Sincil Bank, and the match carries a 15:00 kick-off.
Referee: Declan Bourne.
Assistants Referees: Steve Durnall and Ollie Williams.
Fourth Official: Christopher Ward.
You can discuss this refereeing appointment HERE, as well as get involved with our pre-match threads: You can post your score predictions, discuss the starting XI, and predict the attendance!
We have also published a quiz about the last time the two sides met at Sincil Bank, which can be found at the bottom of the page!
Declan Bourne has been the man in the middle for 3 matches involving Lincoln City:
23/02/21: Lincoln City 2-2 Swindon Town (League One) – 4 yellow cards
07/12/21: Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Lincoln City (League One) – 3 yellow cards and 1 red card
13/08/22: Lincoln City 1-1 Forest Green Rovers (League One) – 6 yellow cards
TOTALS: Matches: 3 — Yellow Cards: 12 — Red Cards: 1
He received an average rating of 8.18 following the 1-1 draw at home against Forest Green Rovers earlier this season. Some of the comments can be found below:
plumbob: “New season and yet another season starts where referees have been told to concentrate on something. I’m pleased that they are letting the game go a bit. Not sure this fella was very consistent with it, nor will many be.
I definitely applaud him for booking their lad when he went basketball-style with a ball already out of play for a throw. That kind of stuff, much like picking the ball up at an opposition free-kick, really does my box in. Really pleased he tried to get a grip on such things very early in the game.
I’ll give him 8.”
Luke Imp: “9/10 for me.
I think missed a foul on Scully that led to the Robson yellow card and also their player should have been booked for tripping Bishop(?) up in the first half but those aside, a good display.
Perhaps made slightly easier by the pace the game was played at, at times but even so, did what he had to do.”
Riiiiik: “8/10. Well done for booking the player for kicking the ball away. Like plumbob, it winds me up when players deliberately move the ball away at free kicks/ throw-ins. Against Exeter, one of their players kicked the ball into the Stacey West to slow the free kick down. I’d have made him go and fetch it.”
Declan Bourne: 202/23 Stats:
06/08/22: Crewe Alexandra 3-0 Harrogate Town (League Two) – 2 yellow cards
13/08/22: Lincoln City 1-1 Forest Green Rovers (League One) – 6 yellow cards
16/08/22: Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Stockport County (League Two) – 5 yellow cards and 1 red card
27/08/22: Leyton Orient 4-2 Hartlepool United (League Two) – 6 yellow cards
17/09/22: Cambridge United 0-3 Barnsley (League One) – 5 yellow cards and 1 red card
24/09/22: Grimsby Town 1-2 Swindon Town (League Two) – 5 yellow cards and 1 red card
01/10/22: Exeter City 2-2 Bristol Rovers (League One) – 4 yellow cards
05/11/22: Carlisle United 2-1 Tranmere Rovers (FA Cup) – 3 yellow cards
12/11/22: Gillingham 0-2 Northampton Town (League Two) – 2 yellow cards
15/11/22: AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Weymouth (FA Cup) – 3 yellow cards
03/12/22: Rochdale 1-4 Harrogate Town (League Two) – 3 yellow cards
13/12/22: Bristol Rovers 4-1 Milton Keynes Dons (EFL Trophy) – 2 yellow cards and 1 red card
TOTALS: Matches: 12 — Yellow Cards: 46 — Red Cards: 4
Declan Bourne was the man in the middle for 24 matches last season, showing 97 yellow cards and 2 red cards.
He was just a little card happy in the League Two match between Scunthorpe United and Forest Green Rovers (0-2) when he showed 10 yellow cards.
Bourne oversaw 30 matches during the 2020/21 season. In those matches, he showed 86 yellow cards and 2 red cards.
He showed 7 yellow cards in the League Two encounter between Walsall and Colchester United, which finished 1-1.
Sources: English Football League & Soccer Base.
– @IpswichTown (h): Match Officials Confirmed:https://t.co/VySDSqUsa2#ImpsAsOne #WeAreImps #ITFC
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) January 1, 2023
