Scunthorpe United FC

Stephen Martin is the man in the middle for the Iron's trip to face Southend United on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

The Staffordshire-based referee will travel to Roots Hall for his 13th game of the season and his second in Sky Bet League Two. The current campaign is his ninth as an EFL referee after being promoted from the Blue Square Premier Division at the end of 2011-12.

Martin is a Select Group Two match official and began refereeing in 2003 before first running an EFL line in 2007. He was promoted to the National List of Assistant Referees in 2008.

His first game of the campaign saw him take charge of a Friday night Sky Sports fixture at Coventry City. The Sky Blues won 3-2 against QPR, with three cautions issued. His latest match was on Wednesday as he oversaw Bristol City's 1-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. He issued one yellow card.

Despite being an EFL referee for almost a decade, he's only taken charge of one Iron game in the past. That came on Valentine's Day in 2014 as Russ Wilcox's men overcame a 2-0 deficit at half-time to win 3-2 at Accrington Stanley. All three cautions on the day went to Accrington players.

Meanwhile, he's taken charge of seven Southend United gams in the past, although the last was over two years ago when the Shrimpers lost at AFC Wimbledon. Prior to that, you'd have to go back to October 2015 when he last oversaw a Southend game - the last time he was in the middle at Roots Hall. Across the seven games, he's issued 12 yellow cards and no reds.

Last year, he officiated in 37 encounters showing 91 yellows and three reds. So far this season, he has shown 26 yellow cards and no reds in 12 matches.

On Saturday, Martin will be assisted by Nigel Lugg and Carl Fitch-Jackson, while Sam Lewis has been appointed as the fourth official.

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