Championship referees 2026/27: A whistle-stop tour

Getting some research done on Championship referees can really help when it comes to betting on the EFL this year. If you’ve got some context on an individual ref like cards shown or fouls/penalties given it can help you decide what would work best as part of an ACCA or even just a single bet. 

The EFL Championship is the second-biggest league in England and with that comes a level of scrutiny beaten (arguably) only by the Premier League. With 12.7 million spectators during the 2023/2024 season and the second-most attended domestic league in the world, there’s a lot of info that you can derive from a referee’s performance over a season.

You’ll want to know things like whether or not the appointed ref for a game has a tendency to book more than the average man in the middle, because it all forms the context of your potential betting plan for the 2026/27 season.

A look at the current Championship referees

The pool of EFL Championship referees has changed for the 2026/27 season, as Pro Ref has merged the previous Select Group 1, Select Group 2 and Supplementary List into one Professional Referee Group. This group will now mainly be assigning officials for both the Championship and Premier League, giving Pro Ref greater flexibility when making appointments for specific games. National Group officials mainly work across League One, League Two and the National League.

There used to be a far more distinct difference between Premier League and Championship referee assignments, but this was designed by Pro Ref as a way to “both greater competition and flexibility to appoint and recognise high-performing match officials” (via the official EFL site).

Even with those changes, it’s still worth looking at some of the busier referees from last season’s EFL Championship campaign, so you can get a gauge of what to expect if they’re appointed for games from August onwards.

Josh Smith

Referee Josh Smith took charge of 27 Championship games in the 2025/2026 season recording a rate of 96 yellow cards given and 6 red cards issued. 

Smith was in the middle for the Steel City derby game at Bramall Lane during the 2025/26 season, where Sheffield United beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 back in February 2026. Derbies are always high-profile fixtures, and Smith gave out two red cards (one for each side) during the 90 minutes.

David Webb

Referee David Webb was the main official for 26 EFL Championship games during the 2025/26 season, and he was a lot less eager to reach into his pocket than some colleagues. Webb gave out 69 yellow cards during the season as well as only 1 red. 

Webb also handled the main officiating duties in the reverse Steel City derby at Hillsborough during the 25/26. Sheffield United won that game 3-0 in November 2025, with only 3 yellow cards given to Wednesday during the tie.

Anthony Backhouse

Referee Anthony Backhouse officiated 25 EFL Championship games during the 2025/26 as the main man in the middle. Backhouse was one of the busier Championship officials last season, as he dished out 116 yellow cards, but did not issue any reds.

Backhouse was in charge for the East Anglian derby at Carrow Road, where Ipswich were able to beat their Norfolk rivals Norwich 2-0. 5 cards were issued to the home side whilst the Tractor Boys got 6 on the day.

Championship refereeing trends – at a glance

The table below includes all of the referees that handled at least 23 EFL Championship games during the 2025/2026 season and is ordered by yellow cards per game from the highest issued (Stephen Martin) to the lowest (David Webb).

The spread between the top and bottom is really wide, with Stephen Martin having issued an average of 4.75 yellows per game and David Webb only 2.62. Two other numbers jump out quite a bit, with Matt Donohue having given 7 penalties across 25 Championship games (producing a rate of 0.28 per game) and Lewis Smith having given out only 2 in 25 (at a rate of 0.08).

Referee-related betting markets

Doing some research into the officials for a game makes a big difference to several betting markets, with disciplinary and foul-related prop bets being where the information you find will really show. Depending on which bookmaker and fixture you choose, the options I’ll outline below could be available as part of a bet builder or just individually. 

Again it’s all about figuring out the context. For example, if you look at Backhouse’s 4.64 yellow card average from last season and compare it to Webb’s 2.62, then you might take a different approach if one of them is the first official for a particular tie.

Yellow and red cards

Yellow card markets offer what is arguably the clearest reason to look closely at refereeing data. There’s a chance that you could find a ref that gives out more cards for specific games, more for a specific team or even individual players.

Whilst the 4.75 I’ve already referenced for Martin previously does not automatically mean that an over bet on cards issued is guaranteed, it feels like a relevant metric if both teams come in with big disciplinary numbers pre-match.

Reds are far more difficult to judge, because although a particular referee might’ve given out far more than a colleague, you don’t see the context of the game or the individual infractions.

Fouls

Foul markets aren’t as universally available at all sportsbooks, but some fixtures might offer specific players or match foul totals. How often the ref blows up to stop the game really matters here, as it gives you context as to how much they’re usually willing to let go during the course of the 90 minutes.

Looking again at the stats I provided earlier, Tom Nield averaged 23.13 fouls per Championship game in 2025/26, whereas Lewis Smith was at 19.4, so if one of those officials is in charge of a specific game (that you want to bet on), then you need to factor that in to decide on whether you bet on the over or under.

It’s all hypothetical of course based on last year’s stats, but it’s a good marker to know where you should probably be leaning.

Penalty to be awarded

Betting on Penalty markets needs a bit more caution, as penalties actually being awarded during a football match is still pretty uncommon (despite what highlight packages might make you believe). 84 penalties were given across 552 Championship games during the 2025/26 season, which is equal to 0.15 per game (or roughly one penalty every 6.6 matches), so it’s not a frequent occurrence by any means.

How to find out who’s the ref before a Championship game

The EFL’s Match Officials page on the official EFL site is the best starting point to find information on referees. Batches of appointments are usually published before a gameweek, but there’s not a strict time that the EFL has to put this out every week. As an example of the timeframe, EFL announced officials on August 11th for matches that were taking place during the 14th-18th August 2025.

Appointments for games are however not made at random. Pro Ref requires that officials submit an annual declaration of their interest. What that means is a referee cannot be appointed to a game where a club they support are playing or there is a recognised rival in the game of the club they support.

This policy also covers other factors, like previous involvement with an individual club, personal connections to individual players and potential geographical conflicts. Beyond that, appointments then need to consider potential issues such as practical, operational or performance factors.

Your best bet for a normal Saturday game is checking the EFL announcement list during the week. Club previews, established news outlets and some betting apps might then also have this information listed, but if it’s from the EFL site then you know it is 100% official.

FAQs about Championship referees

1. Championship games are often tight – how often are they decided by penalties or red cards?

Penalties and red cards make a huge difference during a game of football, but they do not decide every single game. As I’ve already mentioned, 84 penalties were given across 552 Championship games during the 2025/26 season, which is equal to 0.15 per game.

2. Is there any correlation between a higher number of fouls in a game to a lower number of goals?

The number of fouls in a game does not correlate to being a reliable standalone signal for fewer goals in a match. If the referee is blowing their whistle a lot then it will affect the rhythm of the game, but the amount of goals you can expect to see still relies on team quality, chances in front of goal and finishing quality of the players on the pitch.

You just need to look at the game between Wrexham and Sheffield United back in the 2025/26 season, which had Andrew Kitchen as the first official. Kitchen’s Championship matches averaged 20.1 fouls during the 25/26 season, but it was still a 5-3 win for Wrexham. There were 11 fouls given for that game.

3. Can a referee officiate multiple games for a specific team in one season?

Yes, as there is no rule that limits a referee to one league appointment involving a particular club during a season. What Pro Ref focuses on is eligibility and potential conflicts of interest before making appointments, so if someone has already refereed a team during that season, they’re likely to be eligible for another game.

David Webb is a clear example of this, as his 2025/26 games officiated included several Sheffield Wednesday matches, including games against Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Wrexham and the aforementioned Steel City derby against Sheffield United.

4. Do referees approach games differently in a league with no VAR?

The laws of the game aren’t changed because it’s an EFL Championship game, but the environment in which the decision-making takes place does change. Championship clubs rejected the proposed Football Video Support system for the 2026/2027, which means that the officials do not have a “fallback” when it comes to making decisions on the pitch, and everything the first official makes is final there and then.

This places a much greater immediate importance to the referee and assistant-referees’ judgment during a game, but it also means that there won’t be as many stoppages to games as you’d find during a Premier League tie.

About the author

Nathan Hill

Nathan Hill is an experienced sports writer who obsessively follows football – both the round ball and American kind – as well as range of other sports including F1, basketball, darts and snooker.

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