Meet the officials | Middlesbrough

James Bell will be the man in charge when Swansea City host Middlesbrough at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

It will be the first time the man from south Yorkshire has taken charge of a Swans match. He was initially appointed to last season’s home match against Reading, but was replaced late on by Andy Davies.

Bell was promoted to Select Group Two in the summer of 2022 following two successful seasons in League One and Two, and made his Championship debut on August 20, 2022.

After qualifying as a referee at 14, Bell primarily officiated games at his secondary school and in the Sheffield & District Junior League. Initially balancing playing and refereeing.

He eventually chose to focus on the latter and progressed through the system, earning promotion to the National List of Assistant Referees at the age of 23.

He assisted at the 2016 FA Youth Cup final and 2017 League Two play-off final before focusing his efforts on becoming a referee instead of sticking as an assistant.

In 2020 - his final year before being included on the National List of Referees - he was in charge of the National League play-off final between Harrogate Town and Notts County.

On Saturday, he will be assisted by Ian Cooper and Carl Fitch-Jackson. Ben Atkinson is due to be fourth official.