The match officials for Leeds United’s clash with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday have been confirmed with Josh Smith set to be the man in the middle.

Born in Peterborough, Smith is one of the youngest referees in the professional game, having started refereeing in 2006, at the age of just 14, following in the footsteps of his dad and grandad, who had also been referees.

He received successive promotions from the National League to the EFL referees list, before becoming part of the Select Group 2 list of referees from the 2020/21 campaign.

He has previously taken charge of two Leeds United fixtures, with the Whites winning once and drawing once. He has issued three yellow cards to Leeds players in those games.

Smith last took charge of the Whites at the start of the season, in the 2-2 draw with Cardiff City at Elland Road in the Sky Bet Championship.

For Plymouth, Smith has refereed the Pilgrims also on two previous occasions, issuing one yellow card and one red card to Argyle players in that time. Plymouth have won once and lost once when Smith has been the man in the middle.

His last game in charge of Plymouth came in September 2020, as Leyton Orient ran out 3-2 winners in the Carabao Cup.

Smith last refereed Blackburn Rovers’ 3-1 victory over Norwich City last weekend in the Sky Bet Championship.

2023/24 stats

Games (all competitions): 15

Yellow cards issued: 58

Red cards issued: 3

Other officials

Referee: Josh Smith

Assistant referees: James Mainwaring & Natalie Aspinall

Fourth official: Scott Tallis