Brendan Malone will replace Lee Collins as the match referee for tomorrow’s FA Cup with Budweiser Second Round tie between MK Dons and Dover Athletic.
Collins was due to take charge of his fourth Dons fixture this weekend but injury has forced him to be replaced by Wiltshire-based Malone at the 11th hour.
A quarter of the way through his third season as a Football League official, Malone has refereed the Dons four times during his career, showing a total of 12 yellow cards and 1 red card in the process. The solitary sending off came in the side’s 1-1 draw with AFC Bournemouth last season; Alan Smith the man dismissed for serious foul play.
Malone was also an assistant to referee Phil Joslin in the Dons’ Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final against Grimsby Town at Wembley Stadium in 2008 and, after he spotted a foul by Dons ‘keeper Willy Gueret on Paul Bolland in the 19th minute, he awarded the spot-kick from the touchline. The Frenchman subsequently saved Danny Boshell’s penalty.
So far this season, Malone has overseen 16 games, only one of which came in the FA Cup with Budweiser. Malone has booked 37 players in 2013/14 but has only produced his red card on one occasion.
Malone’s last appointment was on Tuesday night, when he was the man in the middle for the 1-1 draw between Birmingham City and Doncaster Rovers. Malone didn’t show a single card that evening.
The full list of officials for Saturday is now as follows:
Brendan Malone (Wiltshire)Referee:
Michael George (Norfolk) and Oleksandr Saliy (Middlesex)Assistant Referees:
Antony Coggins (Oxfordshire)Fourth Official:
*Tickets for this match will be available to buy right up until kick-off from the MK Dons Box Office at stadiummk, the kiosk at thecentre:mk and online.