Peter Wright will referee Dale’s opening Papa John’s Trophy game of this season at Accrington on Tuesday.

The Liverpool official is in his fifth season on the National List and this will be his fourth Dale game since elevating to that level and his sixth Dale appointment in total as the man in the middle.

We most recently saw Peter (via our screens) in February 2021 when he took charge of the 0-0 home draw with Plymouth Argyle.

Three years ago he refereed Dale’s 2-1 home win over Carlisle in the Carabao Cup, while in 2018/19 he was again at Spotland for another 2-1 victory, this time versus Gateshead in the FA Cup.

Four months earlier, Mr Wright had been in the middle for Dale’s pre-season friendly at Tranmere, which ended in a comfortable 3-1 win for Keith Hill’s men.

The policeman also refereed Dale’s friendly at Marine in July 2012, which ended in rather bizarre circumstances just after 9.00pm!

Dale were 1-0 up, but with the light fading and Marine keen to save on the electricity bill, the official and both managers agreed to stop the game before the floodlights were needed!

Before Saturday, when he was due at Walsall v Grimsby, Peter had taken charge of four games this season, showing 11 yellow cards.

Photo: Action Images

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