Referee: SCOTT TALLIS
Assistants: Karl Buckley and Grant Taylor
Fourth Official: Aaron Bannister
We’ve been getting a few ‘new’ referees recently, including Daniel Middleton last week against Chartlon, who was excellent. I do find it amusing that he barely showed a card in our game but sent off Chey Dunkley with just four minutes on the clock this weekend!
This week, we have another newbie – Scott Tallis. Thus far this season, Tallis has 11 matches and 40 yellow cards, which is slightly above average. He’s had three League One matches, and in those, he ranks 18/54 for fouls per game but 32/54 for fouls per tackle. That does suggest he’s had slightly tougher games, as the numbers suggest he is more willing to let things go than some. He’s 40/54 for yellows per game, underlining that his average of more than four is worse outside of the third tier.
Tallis has drawn the ire of a couple of managers this season, but when you see the names, you won’t be surprised. Darren Ferguson moaned about injury time Tallis added in their draw with Leyton Orient, whilst Grant McCann felt penalties were an issue as his side lost to Harrogate. Having those two moan is probably only as surprising as hearing Steve Evans whinging about referees.
There’s not a lot more I can tell you about the ref tomorrow night, apart from the fact he was in charge of the Notts County and Boreham Wood game in which County grabbed a 90th-minute equaliser to send it to extra time, then a 120th-minute winner to win the game, and a chance to advance to the final, where they beat Chesterfield.