RUFC - Ref Watch v Swindon

Andy D'Urso from Essex

Andy was appointed to the National List of Assistant Referees twenty-two years ago and promoted to the National List of Referees in 1994.

Andy D`Urso isn`t without controversy in the football world - for instance he once upset Kevin Bond when he didn`t see a handball in the area and also Bryan Gunn when he had sent one of his players off yet let the opposition get away with a self-same foul as well as Brighton`s respected groundsman, Colin Powell, when Andy called off a game just an hour before kick-off which Mr Powell said was the 'worst decision he`d seen in twenty years.` He was also the referee who gave a spot kick to Middlesbrough which was followed by a group of Manchester United players, led by then skipper Roy Keane, forcing the referee to retreat as he feared he would be 'pushed over`. In September 2004 he was suspended by the Premier League for 'failing to apply the laws of the game` after he had shown Barry Ferguson two yellow cards but failed to send him off.

Our last meeting with Andy was at the b2net stadium in March last year, which after a five-nil drubbing, turned out to be Ronnie Moore's last game in charge of the Millers - and it was only one of two games that Andy D'Urso didn't show any cards in.

The season before, Andy was in charge of our play-off first leg win over Aldershot at the Recreation Ground.

The first time Andy was in the middle for a Millers game was in April 1998 at Plainmoor. Jason White put the Millers one up just after the half-hour mark and five minutes into the second half Andy Roscoe doubled the lead. With twenty minutes to go Tony Bedeau pulled one back for the home side.

Millers team that day
Mimms
Dillon
Richardson
Monington
Hurst
Roscoe
Garner
Berry
Thompson
White
Martindale
Subs not used - Pettinger, Hudson, Darby

Darren Garner and Trevor Berry saw yellow cards that day.

In the twenty-five games that Andy has been in charge of this year he has shown seventy-three yellow cards and four red cards.

Running the line at Don Valley on Saturday will be

Matthew Bristow from Manchester
and
Jason Tyas from West Yorkshire

The Fourth Official will be

Gary Stott from Manchester