The FA make official decision ahead of Blackburn Rovers vs Wolves clash

Wolves take on Championship play-off hopefuls Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend. The tie kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday at Ewood Park as the two clubs commence battle for a spot in the fifth round.

The Football Association have confirmed their refereeing appointments for this weekend and Wolves will be greeted by a new face leading the way. Lewis Smith has been named as the referee this weekend, with Richard West and Robert Hyde as the assistants and Sunny Singh Gill as the fourth official.

It’s a momentous occasion for Smith as he has never refereed a senior Wolves match before. The 30-year-old has officiated five Wanderers under-21 fixtures but never for the first team. Blackburn have had Smith before, though, with him leading two of their games in the past – both ending in wins for Rovers.

Smith isn’t exactly the most patient of referees as this season he’s handed out a whopping 93 yellow cards and four reds in 29 matches, while the Englishman has also awarded 648 fouls. That averages out at 3.21 yellows, 0.14 reds and 22.34 fouls per fixture so far in 2024/25.

Players from both Blackburn and Wolves should be wary of Smith’s tendency to reach for his pocket, especially as any suspensions picked up through red cards will carry over into the Championship and the Premier League respectively.

The Old Gold will be hoping Smith puts on a good showing this weekend as they wouldn’t want a poor officiating performance to stand in their way of progressing to the fifth round for the sixth time since 2000. Wolves fans are also desperate for a trip to Wembley Stadium after missing out by just one game last year – losing to Coventry City in the quarter-finals.

In other news, there have been injury updates for several Wolves players, including Jorgen Strand Larsen and Yerson Mosquera.