Not often we get a first timer at this point in the season but Lancashire referee and Championship novice Ben Toner is indeed in charge of his first ever QPR game this Saturday as we host Norwich.
Referee >>> Ben Toner (Lancashire)
Assistants >>> Paul Hodskinson (Lancashire) and Jonathan Hunt (Merseyside)
Fourth Official >>> Leigh Doughty (Blackpool)
First QPR appointment.
It’s been a steady progression up the ranks for Toner, who was promoted from non-league into the EFL for the 2015/16 season.
He did seven seasons in Leagues One and Two before finally being given a Championship game in April 2022 when Bristol City beat Hull 5-0 at Ashton Gate. One more second tier fixture (Huddersfield 0-0 Swansea) followed in 2022/23 but he’s finally started getting semi-regular games at this level from December onwards. So far this season he’s done Coventry 1-1 Southampton, Bristol City 3-2 Hull and Huddersfield 1-2 Boro at this level and this will be his fourth outing.
Overall he’s done 21 games in 23/23 showing 102 yellows (4.8, high) and one red led by eight yellows at Wigan’s 2-1 home defeat to Stevenage in League One. Last season he finished up with 127 (3.3) and four from 38 games. This is his first ever game with either QPR or Norwich.
In 2017 Toner was taken off a League One game between Blackpool and Portsmouth in the wake of a High Court ruling against the Oyston family’s deliberate asset stripping of the club. The PGMOL insisted the switch to Premier League Jon Moss was because of the extra scrutiny on the game and the need for a more experienced official, and nothing to do with Ben Toner’s name which had caused much mirth among the Pool faithful in light of the verdict.
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Pictures — Action Images