Darren Drysdale will referee Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup third round clash at Morecambe on Wednesday night (7:45pm kick-off).
United travel to the Mazuma Stadium in midweek looking for a third win in four games since the start of the new season, and the 49-year-old – an experienced lower-league official – will take charge of the contest.
Lincolnshire-born Drysdale – who worked his way up through the Northern Alliance and higher tiers of non-league to reach the professional game – has been an EFL referee since 2004, having also been a Premier League assistant for six years between 1998 and 2004. For two years, between 2002 and 2004, he was also a UEFA-listed assistant referee.
Drysdale, who undertook a four-month deployment in Iraq during his time as an RAF sergeant, is yet to issue a red card in his three previous appointments so far this term, which have come in League One, the Football League Trophy and the Carabao Cup.
He has dished out ten yellow cards in those fixtures though, in addition to a total of 96 across 26 games last term. Those outings came in League One, League Two, the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Football League Trophy, though he only handed out three red cards in the entire 2019/20 campaign.
Mark Cunliffe and Conor Brown will assist Drysdale when Steve Bruce’s side take on the fourth-tier outfit, while Simon Mather will be the fourth official.