Ref Change For Tonight

Rotherham United travel to take on Coventry City tonight when there has been a change of referee.

Instead of Anthony Backhouse it will be John Busby from Oxfordshire with the whistle.

This will be the third time John has been in the middle for a Millers game this season the first being in our opening game of the season at Stoke which saw the hosts take a three-nil lead into half-time. Substitute Lee Peltier pulled one back in the opening minute of the second half but soon had to be replaced himself limping off before the visitors had to play the last twenty minutes without Cafu who got a second yellow card. Jacob Brown made it four-one on the ninetieth minute seeing the Millers lose their first opening game for four seasons. He was also in charge of our game at St Mary’s Stadium in October where a second minute Stuart Armstrong put Southampton in front with Jordan Hugill getting a point for Rotherham with ten minutes to go.

John was first in the middle for a Rotherham game back in October 2019 when Rotherham travelled to Portman Road where two goals from Matt Crooks gave the visitors a two-nil win over Ipswich Town. Of the four yellow cards that day Billy Jones, Joe Mattock and Trevor Clarke saw three of them.

After that it was December 2022 at the Hawthorns that John had a Millers game which saw West Bromwich Albion win three-nil. Cameron Humphreys and Georgie Kelly were shown yellow cards that day.

In the twenty-six games he has been in the middle for this season John has shown one hundred and eight yellow cards his only red being the one he gave Cafu in August.

Running the line we have Nigel Lugg and Andrew Dallison while the Fourth Official will be Josh Smith.