Referee has first Burnley game for four years

Last updated : 12 August 2003 By Tony Scholes

The last time Hull referee Paul Robinson took charge of a Clarets game was early in our 2nd Division promotion season of 1999/2000 and that was the 3-0 home win against Colchester when Andy Payton recorded his first Burnley hat-trick.

Apart from awarding us a penalty that was just outside the box he had a quiet afternoon and yellow carded just two Colchester players, pie-eating Warren Aspinall and Karl Duguid.

His only other Burnley games were in the Waddle season of 1997/98 and there were two of them. He was at the Turf early in the season when we drew 0-0 with Oldham when Mark Ford, Damian Matthew and three Oldham players received yellow cards. And towards the end of the season he was referee for our 5-1 hammering at Wigan when Gerry Harrison and Neil Moore were the only players booked.

Last season he didn’t go too crazy with the yellow cards, 109 in 35 matches at just over 3 per game, but he did hand out a total of 13 red cards with four of those coming in the 3rd Division match between Lincoln and Carlisle at Sincil Bank last season, a match that ended with a scuffle between Carlisle officials and Lincoln stewards. That was without doubt his nightmare game of the season.

Tonight will be his first game this season and he will be assisted by Mark Haywood from West Yorkshire and Tom Sim from Staffordshire.