We will need to keep within the Laws at the McAlpine

Last updated : 01 October 2002 By Tony Scholes

He has made a busy sort of start to the season and is already averaging over four yellow cards per game with 35 in 8 games to date. Not only that but after keeping his red card in his pocket for the first six of those game he has used it twice in his last two games.

Firstly he sent off Cambridge defender Andrew Duncan after just fourteen minutes of their game at Rochdale. Cambridge lost the game 4-3 with Rochdale scoring twice in stoppage time at the end.

Then Tony Gallimore was sent off as Grimsby went down 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest with David Johnson scoring all Forest’s goals. The score was just 1-0 at the time.

In a break with tradition Laws has actually carded more home team players this season and 19 of the yellow cards have gone to home team players and just 16 to away team players.

The red cards is not something he uses very often and last season he was one of the few referees not to use it at all whilst there were 108 yellow cards in 40 games. He refereed the 2nd Division play off final between Brentford and Stoke and kept a clean sheet.

The Clarets saw him twice last season, once at home and once away. The home game was the 3-3 draw with Barnsley that featured two penalties and a yellow card each. Bally got ours. Then it was that dreadful 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United and Fred West the only Burnley player in four yellow cards.

He and his brother David have always been on the look out for Bally. In the previous season he yellow carded him twice, in the 2-0 home win against Sheffield United (the only Burnley player out of four carded) and the 1-0 win at Watford (the only yellow card of the game). His brother then ridiculously sent Bally off in the 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United.

Perhaps he will always be best known though for the 2-1 Turf Moor defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe in the promotion season, Although Scunthorpe’s Russell Wilcox was the only player booked in the match he amazingly took no action on their left-back Andy Dawson after taking out Andy Payton on the edge of the box when he was clear on goal. "Red card", screamed Sky commentator Alan Brazil but Laws incredibly did nothing.