Backhouse in charge at Sheff Utd - Referee

Anthony Backhouse is the referee for this Saturday's trip to Sheff Utd - his first QPR action since 2019.

Referee >>> Anthony Backhouse (Carlisle)

Assistants >>> Alex James (Dorset) and Hugh Gilroy (London)

Fourth Official >>> Oliver Langford (West Midlands)

History

Middlesbrough 2 QPR 0, Saturday February 23, 2019, Championship

But really this was just 45 minutes of Middlesbrough seeing a game out. Fletcher shot wide from the edge of the area 60 seconds into the half as QPR, again, started nice and strong. Saville, lovely looking player, shot just over from ages away. Assombalonga had one disallowed by fourth official Anthony Backhouse (on for original referee Andy Madley who had to leave the field at half time suffering the effects of acute boredom) for a foul in back play and was then denied by a leg save from Lumley one on one when QPR were carved apart once more and he really should have scored.

Boro: Randolph 6; Howson 7, Ayala 6, Shotton 6, Fry 7; Wing 6, Mikel 8, Besic 8 (Downing 59, 6), Saville 8; Assombalonga 6 (Hugill 78, 6), Fletcher 6 (Tavernier 73, 6)

Subs not used: Konstantopoulos, Clayton, McNair, Van La Parra

Goals: Howson 3 (assisted Besic), Fletcher 31 (assisted Besic)

Bookings: Besic 14 (foul), Howson 63 (foul)

QPR: Lumley 3; Furlong 4, Leistner 5, Hall 5, Bidwell 5; Wszolek 5 (Wells 81, -), Luongo 5, Cousins 5, Manning 4 (Osayi-Samuel 46, 6); Eze 6; Hemed 4 (Smith 69, 5)

Subs not used: Ingram, Scowen, Kakay, Lynch

Bookings: Cousins 70 (foul)

Referee — Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire) 6 (Anthony Backhouse 45, 7) Madley a little pedantic in the first half, popped off at half time presumably bored with an uncompetitive encounter. Backhouse marginally better second half, again with no tackles being made and therefore nothing to referee.

Stats

Backhouse started refereeing at 14 in the Carlisle Glass Longhorn Youth League and has amassed over 160 EFL matches as a referee since joining the league list in 2017/18. He was promoted onto the SG2 list for the 2023/24 season. Career highlights to date include refereeing the National League Play-Off Final in 2017, being Fourth Official in the 2022 FA Trophy Final and referee in the FA Vase Final in 2023.

Last season, his first with Championship fixtures, he booked 102 (4.43) and sent off three in 23 appointments – 12 of which were in this division. That’s a high average card number, and was boosted substantially by back-to-back hauls of nine cards first at Northampton 1-1 Wigan and then again at Sheff Wed 1-2 Coventry in January.

He started this season with six yellow cards in last night's hilarious 3-0 Middlesbrough win at Leeds in the League Cup.

This is officially his first QPR game, having replaced Andy Madley at Boro in 2019 when he was fourth official. His only previous Sheff Utd appointment was a 2-1 win against Derby in the League Cup in August 2021.

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