Referee to Penn Clarets debut

Last updated : 24 February 2004 By Tony Scholes

Penn is in his second season on the Football League list but this will be the first time he has been the referee at a Burnley game although his first ever game at this level, his only one last season, involved Reading. That was their away game at Sheffield Wednesday in January of last year.

This season he has added four more 1st Division games and so far all five have ended in home wins so it is time for that sequence to be broken.

He doesn’t appear to be over card happy and so far this season he has handed out 68 yellow cards and four red cards in a total of 23 games. At just about three yellows per game he can be considered very much below average.

He does certainly favour the away team players when the cards are handed out and so far 40 of those yellow cards have been given to the visiting team’s players with the other 28 to home players.

Similarly three of the four red cards have been away players, the last of them was former Claret Micky Mellon who was somewhat harshly dismissed in Tranmere’s recent 1-1 draw at Colchester.

Tonight he will be assisted by Ian Bentley from Kent and Steve Dorr from Worcestershire.