Refwatch Preview: Dale v Darlington
Monday, 31st Dec 2007 11:22

We begin our build up to Dale v Darlington with a look at the referee c/o TVOS - a Mr Rob Lewis of Shrewsbury.

Remember three years ago when Tottenham scored that ‘goal’ at Old Trafford that the linesman amazingly didn’t see crossing the line?

Well that linesman, Rob Lewis, will be the man in the middle when Dale entertain Darlington on New Year’s Day, injuries permitting.

Mr Lewis hasn’t actually officiated a game this season at the time of writing due to being out with a long-term injury.

He was due at Swindon v Hartlepool just before Christmas, so if he came through that match unscathed, chances are we’ll see him roll up at Spotland.

This will be his fourth match at Spotland, one of which, coincidentally, was our 2-0 loss to the Quakers in April 2006.

Earlier in that season he had taken charge of the home game against Rushden & Diamonds when Jon Boardman scored an injury time header to give Dale a 2-1 win.

Last April he refereed the goalless home draw with Swindon, having postponed the original fixture two months earlier, much to the disagreement of, in particular, Dale secretary Colin Garlick.

Previously Mr Lewis was a FIFA assistant referee/linesman, a position for which one of the requirements was to not award goals against Manchester United at Old Trafford, it would seem!

Other famous Robs