Ref Watch: Birmingham City (H)

Simon Mather is an experienced hand now, having played in the EFL for some time but not in the Championship. He was promoted from

the National League at the end of the 2020/2021 season and has been with us ever since.

In terms of the Imps, he hasn’t visited the Bank in a while. He last managed us in a 0-0 tie with Barnsley in April 2023, and the year

before that, he led us to a 3-0 victory over Cheltenham Town. He’s also appeared in two cup games: in 2023, when we drew with Barrow

and won on penalties, and against Accrington, when we were eliminated from the Papa John’s Trophy on penalties.

Up to 2021/22, he worked the National League circuit, and his only ‘appearance’ against City was as a fourth official in our game versus

Sunderland. He enjoyed receiving a red card while playing in the National League. In his debut season, 2018/19, he appeared to be quite

restrained, with only one red card in 20 appearances and an average of three yellows per game. The following season, he played fewer

games (16), but issued more yellows (61) and reds (5).

However, he was clearly a regarded referee, as he was assigned the Harrogate and Boreham Wood National League play-off semi-finals

before stepping up. This season, he’s primarily refereed in League Two, taking five matches and only two at our level.

Interestingly, he has reffed more games than anyone at that level, but he ranks 53rd in fouls per game among the 55 officials who have

reffed in the bottom division, with only 19. For reference, there were 24 in our previous game and 38 when we faced Stevenage.

In terms of consistency, he is 47/55 for fouls per tackle, which suggests he has officiated ‘fairer’ games because those positions align, and

that typically indicates a ref who calls it fairly rather than being overly picky. He also has 46 yellow cards per game, pointing to a referee

who, hopefully, we will not be discussing on Sunday.