EFL appoint Sunderland v Millwall referee who had to apologise after Black Cats 'gaffe' in October

Millwall make the long trip to Sunderland this weekend and the EFL has confirmed the appointment of a familiar name to referee the fixture.

The Lions return to Championship action following the international break buoyed by a dramatic late 1-0 win over Stoke City earlier this month. Meanwhile, the Black Cats are looking to bounce back from a painful 3-0 defeat to promotion rivals Coventry City.

The EFL has announced its decisions on officials for the upcoming round of second tier fixtures and it is Bobby Madley who will oversee proceedings at the Stadium of Light. The referee has not worked on a match involving Millwall yet this season but has been in charge of three Sunderland fixtures.

EFL confirms Sunderland v Millwall decision

The North East outfit has drawn two and won one of those outings with the victory coming in a highly controversial 1-0 triumph at Hull City in October. The Wearsiders picked up all three points at the MKM Stadium thanks to a Wilson Isidor goal but Madley was slammed by former Tigers boss Tim Walter after full-time.

Isidor ran from his own half before chipping over the Hull goalkeeper in the 63rd minute. However, the Tigers believed that Madley’s positioning interfered with their play when trying to take a corner short in a memorable gaffe.

Walter said that the referee apologised to him after the fixture but was still irked by Madley potentially missing a red card for Chris Mepham, who appeared to handle a ball played in by Gustavo Puerta. Walter said: "Maybe you can interview the referee then it would be better.

Hull City ‘really frustrated’ by referee against Sunderland

"For me, it's really frustrating. He apologised for this situation, but it doesn't help. He's not well prepared because I said, 'If you know how we play the corner kicks and the set pieces, then he would know that we play a lot of situations short’. He said to me that he was well prepared, but unfortunately not because I did it also in my former clubs, and we do it all the time. If you don't find the right position, then in this case, maybe you're not well prepared, and that's what I said to him - and he said he could not whistle.

"You can't explain every situation, sometimes you have to accept it and it was like it is today. It was not the only situation, because in the first half, it was also for me a clear handball. He [Mepham] played the ball with the hand back to the keeper, and for me, it's a red card, but he saw it in a different way. We have to accept it, but it is like a never-ending story."

Madley will be assisted by Blake Antrobus and Mark Dwyer this weekend with Tom Nield as the fourth official. The referee’s last game was a 2-1 Carlisle United win over Barnsley in League Two last weekend, which saw a penalty and seven yellow cards awarded.

In other news, Sunderland have been handed a fresh injury concern ahead of Millwall as a 'leader' requires 'investigation'.