Referee Watch – Graham Salisbury

Barring any late changes, Graham Salisbury of Lancashire will be in the middle for Blues’ game against Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday. Here is a look at his stats.

Season Performance

Mr Salisbury has taken charge of twelve games so far this season, handing out forty-four yellow cards and four reds. Of those twelve games, Mr Salisbury has taken charge of three games handing out sixteen yellow cards and two reds – eight yellows and both reds coming in a bad-tempered affair between Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town.

Last Season Mr Salisbury took charge of thirty-seven league games, handing out one hundred and eleven cautions and sending five players off. Of those games, thirteen were in the Championship and they yielded fifty cautions and one red card.

Last Blues Game Refereed

It’s been some time since Mr Salisbury last took charge of a Blues game with the last one being the 1-0 win over Derby at St Andrews back in January 2009. In that game Mr Salisbury handed out three yellow cards – to Liam Ridgewell, Lee Bowyer and Paul Connolly of Derby County.

Last Championship Game Refereed

The last game Mr Salisbury officiated in at Championship level was the game between Wolves and Crystal Palace at Molineux at the start of October which finished 2-1 to the away side. In that game Mr Salisbury only showed one yellow card, to Karl Henry of Wolves. Whilst the linesman caught some criticism from the Express and Star for allowing the Palace equaliser to stand, the referee wasn’t criticised in the same manner by the paper whereas the Croydon Advertiser noted the ref could and should been harsher on some of the fouls perpetrated by the home side, and that a penalty should have been awarded for a trip on Zaha – something the Express and Star also noted.

All stats from Soccerbase