Saturday’s home game against Charlton Athletic will now be refereed by Sam Barrott and not James Bell.

As per yesterday's stories, Bell is a supporter of his hometown club Sheffield Wednesday, one of the Blues’ rivals for automatic promotion from League One.

On learning that that was the situation, Town approached the authorities requesting that another referee should take charge of the fixture.

Barrott (pictured above), who was initially slated as the fourth official for the Stevenage-Wimbledon game in League Two, has swapped appointments with Bell and will now be the man in the middle at Portman Road.

The West Riding-based official will be refereeing the Blues for the fourth time having taken charge of the 1-1 draw at Cambridge United in February and the 1-1 opening day home draw with Bolton Wanderers.

He was also in charge of Town boss Kieran McKenna’s first match as Blues manager, the 1-0 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road in December 2021.

Photo: Action Images

Hipsterectomy added 09:01 - Apr 14 If the referee had any integrity he would have refused the match in the first place. Or explained to the authorities his situation and let them decide.
1

Marcus added 09:05 - Apr 14 Sensible decision. When talking about the ref after a game it means they have been noticed, which is rarely a good thing; talking about one BEFORE a game is a huge red flag.
9

Rozeeboy74 added 09:10 - Apr 14 You watch this guy do us over with a series of bad decisions. :-)
-2

SlippinJimmyJuan added 09:13 - Apr 14 One of those where it seems like we are damned if we do and damned if we don't isn't it Rozeeboy! Hopefully the match passes without incident.
6

Monkey_Blue added 09:18 - Apr 14 It's best all round. I can't question the guys integrity or fairness but also you can't say his allegiance wouldn't have been a factor either in going against us or trying too hard to show he isn't biased. In the final reckoning it's best to remove any questions when so much is at stake. I suspect Charlton would have complained bad decisions gone our way he was scared to make a call against us for fear of being called biased.

12

Suffolkboy added 09:26 - Apr 14 Starkly put MB but on the nail ! COYB
3

Bazza8564 added 09:33 - Apr 14 Best not to court controversy, easy swap, problem solved
1

chepstowblue added 09:37 - Apr 14 A peculiar episode. Whilst we had no right to question James Bell's integrity; his appointment was very shortsighted on the EFL's part. A controversial decision of any sort during the game would have been a conspiracy theorist's dream. Common sense(not something that the football authorities are renowned for) thankfully prevails.
3

62WasBest added 09:40 - Apr 14 As Sheffield is historically in the West Riding we could have yet another Sheffield Wednesday loving ref on our hands or a Sheff. Wed hating one, so I'm not sure a lot has improved, based on the information above.
0

Gforce added 10:04 - Apr 14 Common sense prevails.
-2

NedPlimpton added 10:07 - Apr 14 @62WasBest in this instance doesn't West Riding apply to the FA Governing Body areas? In which case Sheffield has its own so isn't included in West Riding
0

Monkey_Blue added 10:24 - Apr 14 Sorry Chepstow… meant to vote you up.
0

terryf added 10:44 - Apr 14 Without questioning the guy's integrity it was the right decision. There are bound to be some contentious moments and I can see the fans being well fired up and on his case throughout the match. Just go out and win the game now and a repeat of last season's score line would be good.
0

dford7 added 10:50 - Apr 14 Isnt that Sam Barrott from Woodbridge? Only kidding...
0

Bluespeed225 added 11:23 - Apr 14 Don't worry, he's probably Leeds, so will hate everyone but have a massively over inflated view of himself. There'll be some sort of problem no doubt. Just have to put this game out of reach early!
0

itsonlyme added 11:55 - Apr 14 Whoever makes the referees appointments made a stupid error in the first place. He put the referee under pressure by the appointment! Common sense has prevailed!
0

hyperbrit added 12:45 - Apr 14 common sense indeed...the EFL making idiotic decisions in their boardrooms has been exposed.Do you seriously believe it was an accident?
0

gosblue added 14:27 - Apr 14 I'm sure the guy would have been fair but it put him in a situation where fingers could have been pointed after the match by one or other of the teams. It's not enough to be fair but you also have to be seen to be fair. Well done fan power and common sense.
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 15:47 - Apr 14 Two fingered salute from the PGMOL there. Don't complain or we'll find a ref who's already awarded two penalties against you this season!
0

Steelmonkey added 16:10 - Apr 14 Totally impartial this official - he supports Nodge.
0

bobble added 01:12 - Apr 15 hopefully we will have AI robots refing soon...
0

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