Simon Hooper to referee Preston North End's match against Wrexham
Experienced referee Simon Hooper will oversee Preston North End’s match against Wrexham on Saturday.
Hooper has been officiating for over two decades and took charge of his first Premier League match in August 2015, more than ten years ago.
Since then, he has officiated 141 top-flight fixtures, including significant matches involving the top four teams, as well as ties in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, where he has managed semi-finals in the last three seasons.
The 44-year-old also has considerable experience in the EFL, having refereed 216 Championship matches, although he has only officiated eight in the last three seasons.
In the 2025-26 season, Hooper refereed 15 Premier League games, followed by 13 more, but he has been surprisingly under-used this season, with his last Premier League match occurring on February 10 between West Ham United and Manchester United.
He has served as the fourth official in two Championship matches and one Premier League game, but has only refereed three matches this season, one each in League One, the EFL Trophy and an Under-21s fixture.
His League One match took place last Saturday, where he oversaw Robbie Savage’s first game in charge of Peterborough United as they triumphed over Leicester City 3-1, and on Saturday he will step up to the Championship.
Hooper has officiated 15 matches involving Preston over the years, with North End winning only four and losing eight.
The most recent encounter was in January 2022, when the Lilywhites were eliminated from the FA Cup by Cardiff City in extra time.
In a meeting with Brentford in 2018, Hooper issued a red card to Greg Cunningham for two yellow card offences.
Wrexham have only been refereed by Hooper once, during a 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Stoke City in 2015.
Wade Smith and Matthew Joyce will assist him, with Elliott Bell acting as the fourth official.
Graham Alexander will lead his new team on another away trip this weekend to face 17th-placed Wrexham.
Preston are in urgent need of their first victory under the recently appointed manager, having dropped to 24th place in the Championship table after equalling a 102-year-old record of losing eight of their first ten matches.
Their latest defeat was a 4-0 loss to Birmingham City on Tuesday, with Jordan Thompson stating the team must deliver a strong response for the sold-out away support travelling to the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham will also be seeking a win after being booed off following their late home defeat to West Brom on Tuesday, which has placed manager Phil Parkinson under pressure in the Dragons’ second Championship campaign.
Source: Lancashire Evening Post