Referee for this tonight’s BT Sport Live clash with Dundee Utd is the experienced Crawford Allan.
It will be Crawford’s fifth Motherwell fixture of the current campaign, with a mixed bag in the other games.
He handled the season opener at Inverness, when a Wes Fletcher goal earned the Fir Parkers their first three points in the campaign.
Then, two months later, he was in charge for the impressive 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, when Scott McDonald’s goal earned Mark McGhee’s side a good point.
The next was the disappointing 3-0 reverse at the Global Energy Stadium in late November, when a depleted Steelmen suffered a heavy loss in the Highlands.
However, his most recent was the solid 2-0 win over St Johnstone at Fir Park just after Christmas, which was in the middle of a solid ‘Well run at the time.
Crawford will be a very familiar face to most Scottish fans, having been a steady stalwart over the last decade.
He handled four matches during the 2014/15 season too, including two Friday night defeats at Pittodrie, ‘Well losing 2-1 and 1-0 respectively, the instantly forgettable New Years defeat at New Douglas Park and the 1-1 draw with Ross County at Fir Park last season.
Tragically, Allan took charge of the ‘Well game on the 29th December 2007, forever etched in history as the date when Phil O’Donnell tragically passed away in the 5-3 victory over Dundee United.
Speaking publically, Allan admitted Phil’s death had a profound effect on the whistler but won heartfelt praise for the way he handled what was an extremely difficult situation and his sensitive approach will be forever appreciated by everyone at Motherwell Football Club and is recognised each time he returns to Fir Park.
In another twist of fate, Crawford is only one of two referees to have ever taken charge of a Motherwell away game at Fir Park as the Steelmen faced hosts Gretna during the 2007/2008 campaign.
His record in charge of the ‘Well is a fairly mixed, with the Fir Parkers winning ten, drawing eight and losing eight of the twenty six games in total. In those games, 70 players have seen yellow, 42 in Claret and Amber, whilst four have been sent for an early bath, the most recent being Shaun Hutchinson in that match against Hibs two seasons ago.
Allan will be ably assisted by Brian Templeton and Stuart Hodge with Mike Roncone on fourth official