First game in almost ten years

Last updated : 27 February 2009 By Tony Scholes
He's been a Football League referee since 1994 and spent seven years as a Select Group referee. That came to an end and he hasn't refereed a Premier League game since taking charge of Fulham v Aston Villa in December 2005.

In his last Championship game between Norwich and Bristol City three weeks ago he was blasted by home manager Bryan Gunn for the sending off of Gary Doherty. Opposing manager Gary Johnson backed him and said: "No one can disagree with the decision. Dele Adebola has run through and Doherty has pulled him down. There was no way that one was anything other than a penalty and a sending off."

Johnson may have thought no one could disagree, but the FA did and overturned the red card and vindicating Gunn's stance on it.

But that was one incident, however D'Urso was accused earlier in the season by Barnsley manager Simon Davey of failing to protect Iain Hume during the home game against Sheffield United that saw the player suffer a serious head injury. Hume had appealed to D'Urso during the game of the treatment he was receiving.

D'Urso though was brave enough a few years ago to award a penalty against Manchester United at Old Trafford and probably this is one incident he'll always be remembered for. It led to a group of United players, led by Roy Keane, challenging the referee and forcing him to back away from the angry players.

Now to this season, and his current record, despite the Doherty and Hume incidents. In November he handed out six yellow cards in a Carling Cup tie between Swansea and Watford and he repeated that last week in Morecambe's win at Aldershot. In his other games this season he's never exceeded three yellow cards.

In 29 games this season he's given out 49 yellow cards along with four red cards, and two of those red cards came in that game between Barnsley and Sheffield United when Anderson De Silva and Ugo Ehiogu were dismissed.

Of those yellow cards 19 have gone to home team players with 30 to away team players.

That Notts County game was on the 3rd April 1999. D'Urso had a bad game that afternoon, hopefully the more experienced D'Urso will have a better game tomorrow.

He will be assisted by Peter Quinn (Cleveland) and Peter Wright (Lancashire) whilst the fourth official tomorrow will be Simon Clayton (Co Durham).

Previous Burnley games:

Season

Opps

V

Res

Y

R

Burnley players carded

a

1997/98

Stoke

a

0-2

1

0

Waddle

1998/99

Notts County

a

0-0

4

0

Armstrong Little Payton