Referee Ruebyn Ricardo will be the man in the middle for Bristol Rovers’ Sky Bet League Two clash against Swindon Town on Saturday.
Ricardo started refereeing in 2013 following a broken wrist in school, when his PE teacher suggested that he should referee the school football matches. He progressed through PGMO’s development group and became the first referee of Black heritage to officiate the FA Vase final.
He has made appearances across the EFL and beyond, having refereed the National League playoff semi-finals in 2024 between Bromley and Altrincham, where Bromley won 3-1 before beating Solihull Moors 4-3 on penalties in the final to gain promotion to Sky Bet League Two.
This is Ricardo's first time officiating a Swindon Town match, but he has previously met with Rovers. He has twice refereed the Gas, first in the 2023/24 campaign, with the Pirates beating Whitby Town 7-2 in the Emirates FA Cup. His previous game with Rovers was last season, where the Gas beat Peterborough United 3-1 at The Memorial Stadium in Sky Bet League One.
Ricardo has refereed 23 matches across five competitions this campaign, with only one coming in Sky Bet League Two. He has appeared the most in the Sky Bet Championship this term, overseeing 16 games, with his most recent outing being earlier this week when Norwich City beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1.
Emily Carney and Robert Hyde will join Ruebyn Ricardo as Assistant Referees and Richie Watkins as the Fourth Official.
