Darren Bond will be the man in charge when Rovers host Fleetwood Town at the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday.
The Lancashire-based official is an experienced Championship referee. He began his EFL career in 2012 and took charge of his first Championship game the following year.
He is one of 18 referees in Select Group 2 – which is a list of officials who are employed mostly in tier two – and has been in the group since its creation in 2016. He has more than 200 EFL matches under his belt and spent time as a Premier League assistant referee.
Working mostly in the Championship, it has been 11 months since Bond has overseen a Rovers match, taking charge when the side travelled to Lincoln City’s LNER Stadium in January 2021.
Bond awarded the home side two penalties that day, but loan keeper Ellery Balcombe saved both spot kicks meaning that Taylor Richard’s strike on 15 minutes was enough to secure three points for Rovers.
On Saturday, Bond will be assisted by David Hunt and Paul Stonier. Darren Handley will be the fourth official.
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