Referee for Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth round clash against Rangers at Ibrox is Craig Thomson.
The 44-year old takes charge of his third Motherwell fixture of the season, after the league opener against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and the Steelmen’s 1-1 draw away to Partick Thistle in September.
One of the top Scottish referee’s in the game, Thomson has been in charge of a number of Ladbrokes Premiership clashes this season as well as officiating in the UEFA Champions League group stages.
Of the three matches he refereed in Europe’s premier club competition, one match saw him oversee last year’s finalists Atlético Madrid who took on Rostov.
Last season, the official took charge of three Motherwell fixtures.
The first two fixtures were away clashes against St Johnstone and Hamilton, with 2-1 and 1-0 losses respectively.
The last time Thomson took charge during last season was the Steelmen’s trip to Inverness, where the hosts won 3-1.
The official oversaw a twice taken penalty just before the interval and it shifted the balance of what was a very even match.
His record in charge of the Steelmen is a bit of a mix bag with 16 wins from 47 matches. There have been 21 defeats and ten draws too.
Not included in that list was the 2007/08 Scottish Cup fourth round replay win against Hearts at Fir Park, when he replaced the injured Stuart Dougal midway through the second-half.
In those games, Motherwell have scored 66 and conceded 68.
165 players have gone into the book, 83 were wearing claret and amber, while seven players, including former and current captains Stephen Craigan and Keith Lasley, have been dismissed. The most recent was Stephen McManus in the away defeat to Inverness.
Craig will be ably assisted by Alan Mulvanny and Andrew McWilliam; with Stephen Finnie on fourth official duties.