The referee for this weekend’s fixture against Wycombe Wanderers is Scott Oldham, ably (we hope) assisted by Bradley Hall and Harley McKittrick. Robert Massey-Ellis is the fourth official.
Like many of this season’s officials, Scott Oldham graduated from the National League around the same time as us. He was on the National League roster in 2016/17, but he did not take charge of one of our games. The first time we came across him was in our 1-0 win at Swindon in the 2017/18 season, before he visited Sincil Bank for the first time later in the season as we beat Newport 3-1. Both games saw him book two Imps players, but the red card stayed in his pocket again, and the penalty spot wasn’t troubled.
Oldham was something of a lucky charm for us. The following season, we saw him once as we beat Yeovil 1-0 at the Bank, thanks to Mark O’Hara’s header. In 34 matches that year, he sent off just one player and booked 99. It’s fair to say that when he can, his cards stay in his pocket, although in 2019/20, he did brandish five in his 32 games, including a little spell of four in eight games. He did appear in the middle of a City game twice. We were beaten 3-1 at current bogey side Doncaster in the EFL Trophy, and he was controlling our 3-2 win against Burton Albion, the final Covid game, where he awarded a correct penalty against us. We did see him in charge of Ben Coker’s only game in a Lincoln shirt; the 3-0 victory against Rotherham United in the EFL Trophy.
He officiated our 2-1 defeat at Oxford, a year later, where he didn’t impress me. I was angry in that game after he missed a blatant penalty against us, but levelled it up with a handball missed in their goal. Then he could (and should) have sent their keeper off, turning in an inconsistent display, to which I remarked:
“The referee continued in his inconsistent vein, booking Edun for the faintest of pullbacks on their player, but then ignoring a worse infringement from Hanson on Harry, again, not long after. If one is a yellow ref, the other has to be; it shouldn’t matter if you have already booked the player.
“There was another blatant handball in a move by Sykes, which was missed, but then Scully offended in the same way, and it was caught. I’m not saying those incidents changed the game, but they just poured more sand into the side of my scales marked ‘injustice’.”
He also took charge of our final day 0-0 draw with Wimbledon, a game notable for having nothing of note occur in it. The following season brought another low-key afternoon in terms of officiating, as Wigan Athletic won 3-1 at the Bank in April 2022. Again, just one Lincoln player entered the referee’s notebook, reflecting a game that passed without major flashpoints.
Things stepped up a notch in February 2023 when City travelled to Pride Park. Lincoln led Derby County through Shodipo before the game turned on a key decision. Ben House was dismissed on 55 minutes after receiving two yellow cards, leaving City to play the remainder of the match with ten men. Derby eventually equalised through Conor Hourihane, but City held on for a point despite being under pressure for long spells.
A year later, Oldham was in charge at Adams Park for a 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers. The hosts led through Dale Taylor before Ethan Erhahon struck a late equaliser to earn City a point. Discipline was not a major feature here, with Ethan Hamilton the only Lincoln player cautioned in a game that remained competitive but controlled.
Just a couple of months later came one of the more one-sided results under Oldham, as Lincoln thrashed Cambridge United 6-0 at Sincil Bank in March 2024. Despite the dominance, two Lincoln players were booked, one of the few occasions where cards came despite a comfortable afternoon.
The 2024/25 season brought a chaotic encounter at Oakwell, where Barnsley edged City 4-3 in a high-scoring contest. Only one Lincoln player was cautioned, suggesting that while the game was open, it was not overly ill-tempered.
His most recent outing involving the Imps came in January 2026 at Kenilworth Road, and it proved to be the most card-heavy of the lot. City raced into a two-goal lead through Freddie Draper and Rob Street, only for Luton Town to respond before the break through Gideon Kodua and Nahki Wells. The second half saw Oldham’s disciplinary line come into sharper focus, with five Lincoln players booked: Conor McGrandles, Rob Street, Ivan Varfolomeev, Freddie Draper and Dylan Jefferies. He wrongly disallowed a crucial goal for a foul on George Wickens, which is still talked about today.
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