Stephen Martin to referee Newport County away game

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

The Staffordshire-based referee will travel to Rodney Parade for his ninth game of the season and his second in Sky Bet League Two. The current campaign is his 10th 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 Cardiff City against Barnsley on the opening day of the Championship season. The game ended 1-1, with no cautions. Meanwhile his latest game also came in the second tier as he took charge of Blackpool's 1-0 home win over Barnsley in which four cautions were issued.

Despite being an EFL referee for a decade, he's only taken charge of two Iron games in the past. The first 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, the latest encounter was the only Scunthorpe game played in front of a crowd last season, as Southend United won 1-0. No cards were shown.

Meanwhile, he's taken charge of seven Newport County games in the past, including two in his Blue Square Premier days. The last encounter came over two years ago in the Carabao Cup as West Ham United progressed to the next round. Across the seven games, he's shown 16 yellow cards and one red.

Last year, he officiated in 30 encounters showing 68 yellows and three reds. So far this season, he has shown 31 yellow cards and one red in eight matches.

On Saturday, Martin will be assisted by Mark Russell and Mark Pottage, while Daniel Lamport has been appointed as the fourth official.

PAST SCUNTHORPE UNITED ENCOUNTERS

DATE	COMP	MATCH	Y	R
Dec 12, 2020	LG 2	Southend United 1-0 Iron	0	0
Feb 14, 2014	LG 2	Accrington Stanley 2-3 Iron	3	0

PAST NEWPORT COUNTY ENCOUNTERS

DATE	COMP	MATCH	Y	R
Aug 27, 2019	LGE C	Newport County 0-2 West Ham United	0	0
Oct 10, 2015	LG 2	Mansfield Town 3-0 Newport County	1	0
Dec 26, 2014	LG 2	Newport County 2-0 Plymouth Argyle	3	0
Sep 28, 2014	LG 2	Newport County 1-1 Cambridge United	1	0
Nov 15, 2013	LG 2	Newport County 2-0 Hartlepool United	0	0
Apr 9, 2012	BSP	Kidderminster Harrier 3-2 Newport County	4	0
Mar 3, 2012	BSP	Southport 1-1 Newport County	7	1