Significant change made by Birmingham City vs. Cardiff following EFL outrage

Robert Madley was supposed to be in charge of Birmingham City’s match against Cardiff City tonight, but there has been a refereeing change.

The EFL has confirmed that the referee assigned to oversee Wednesday night’s pivotal match between Birmingham City and Cardiff City has been replaced. Sam Allison will be the man in the center tonight instead of the seasoned Bobby Madley, who was originally supposed to lead events at St Andrew’s.

Many Blues supporters expressed their dismay on social media in the lead-up to tonight’s match that a man connected to a survival rival would be put in charge as Blues themselves look to fight their way out of the bottom three. Madley, who has a wealth of Premier League and European experience, is known to be a supporter of Huddersfield Town.

Tuesday night at Preston North End, Huddersfield was defeated 4-1 despite holding the advantage early in the match. This evening’s outcome allows the Blues to move ahead of the Terriers with a win, or even a point. Madley was initially hired by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which is responsible for assigning referees to all Premier League and EFL matches. However, Madley was later removed from the Blues roster.

Allison will now serve as the match official at St Andrew’s, and he will oversee Bristol City’s match against Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate. The fourth official, Andy Davies, remains the same as do the assistant referees, Daniel Leach and Greg Read.

Moving away from the potential of professional football, Allison, a former non-league football player who spent his childhood career at the academies of Swindon Town, Bristol City, Exeter City, and Bournemouth, switched to firefighting. He was appointed Premier League referee on Boxing Day of last year, becoming him the first black official to do so since Uriah Rennie in 2008.

This season, he has officiated two Blues games: the 2-0 loss against Coventry City during Wayne Rooney’s disastrous spell, and the 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town, which coincidentally took place under John Eustace in October.