The Football League have now announced the Match Day officials that will take charge of the game between Aston Villa and Sheffield United this Saturday.
Aston Villa host Sheffield United on Saturday December 23 for the game at Villa Park and the match carries a 5.30pm kick off.
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Refs: Akil Howson and Adam Crysell
Fourth Official: Darren Bond
Match Day referee Hooper has officiated 21 games in 2017/18, showing 68 yellow cards and three red cards so far.
He took in 43 games in 2016/17 with a return of 149 yellow cards and three red cards.
His highest card count that year was nine yellows and one red in the game between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
He took charge of 42 games in 2015/16 and in those games, across all competitions and football divisions, he handed out a total of 100 yellow cards and two red cards.
He was most card happy in the match between Burton and Wigan in April with six yellows being shown.
An EFL referee for nine years, Hooper has refereed over 100 Championship games. He took charge of the League Two Play-Off Final between Wycombe Wanderers and Southend United in May 2015, and handled Millwall’s win over Bradford City in last season’s Sky Bet League One showpiece.
Source – EFL.
Let`s hope it`s not another repeat and more of the players edge closer to automatic bans.
