The man in charge of the npower Championship match between Middlesbrough and Peterborough United is GRAHAM SALISBURY.
Graham Salisbury is in his twelfth season as a Football League referee but he nearly didn`t make the grade!
Having been a Football League assistant, Salisbury was hoping to be promoted to referee but he took a hard knock when he failed to earn the promotion. Instead of throwing in the towel, he was determined to prove that he was good enough.
‘When I got the letter, I think I must have thrown my bag about three fields away,’ Salisbury said.
‘The news was a real kick in the teeth, I felt awful. No one likes to be told that they’re no good. To be that close and not to get it was very difficult to accept.
‘But I chatted it through with my family and eventually got it all in perspective. You either pack it in or try to prove people that they have made an error. I saw it as a challenge and, as in any profession, it is how you deal with the setbacks that counts. And I wanted to prove people wrong.’
Salisbury has done just that. He passed his promotion test at the second attempt, the following season, and has gone on to prove his point which culminated in him officiating the 2011 Johnstone`s Paint Trophy Final at Wembey between Brentford and Carlisle. Carlisle won the match 1-0 but Salisbury will remember it for a sending off after a former Posh player picked up two yellow cards. “Dave”, aka Toumani Diagouraga, picked up the red card for what his manager described as “overzealous challenges”.
Salisbury has already officiated Middlesbrough this season when they comfortably beat Hastings United 4-1 in the FA Cup. Three yellow cards were shown on that occasion but just one of them went to the home sides Kevin Thomson.
Middlesbrough seem to have Salisbury officiate two of their games each season but you have to go back to the 2009/10 season to when he last took charge of a Posh match. That came at Selhurst Park when Crystal Palace triumphed 2-0 while no cards were shown at all.
Posh were more successful the season before (2008/09) when Salisbury took charge of two of their matches. Posh were held to a goalless draw when MK Dons parked their bus at London Road before defeating Oldham towards the end of the season. A Craig Mackail-Smith brace sandwiched a Chris Taylor goal for the home side. Five yellow cards were issued in the MK Dons match with three going to the Dons while only one yellow card wasshown in the Oldham match which went to substitute Shaun Batt.
The Lancashire based official seems to be a bit card happy this season as he has shown more yellow cards than any other Championship referee. In the 37 games he has officiated, he has shown 118 yellow cards and 5 red cards!
Of those 37 matches, 12 have been Championship matches and has issued 47 yellow cards and three red cards. In three of these matches, he issued 7 or more cards!!
His last match came on Saturday when he officiated the Yorkshire derby between Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley. Wednesday won that match 2-1 but there were five yellow cards issued and one red one. Wednesday received three yellow cards and had Lewis Buxton sent off.
The assistant referees for the Middlesbrough v Posh match are Paul Cook and Alf Greenwood. The fourth official is Tony Peart.
Middlesbrough v Peterborough United
Location: Riverside Stadium
Date:2nd April, 2013
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Referee
Graham Salisbury
Assistants
Paul Cook
Alf Greenwood
Fourth official
Tony Peart
Follow me on Twitter: @mwl1967
Photos courtesy of www.football-league.co.uk and www.theposhpics.com and
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