Reading have been given experienced official Andy Davies for Saturday's FA Cup third round clash with Burnley, almost exactly 11 years on from his first match in charge of the Royals.

Davies, of Hampshire, is best known for being the only referee in the EFL who formally played for a football team having appeared for the likes of Portsmouth and Gillingham before injury struck.

First promoted to the EFL in 2012/13, he first came across the Royals as a man in the middle for the memorable 7-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in January 2014.

Since then, he has refereed Reading 20 times, with 2014/15 and 2023/24 the only campaigns in which he hadn't come across the club.

In those fixtures, Reading have won eight times and lost 10 times, but a lot of the games have been memorable.

From Jaap Stam's first win over Preston North End in 2016 to a last-gasp victory over Wigan Athletic in 2019, his most recent visit came in 2023 as Noel Hunt's Royals drew 1-1 with the Latics.

Relegating Shaun Maloney's side, the Royals were only sparred until the midweek following before they succumbed to relegation themselves.

Another match that lives long in the memory is a 3-0 win over Cardiff City in 2019, which marked George Puscas' debut.

Scoring twice and nearly grabbing a hattrick, supporters quickly fell for the club record signing, but he would depart with 20 goals in 91 appearances in 2022.

Davies will be joined by Graham Kane and Emily Carney on the line and Carl Brook as fourth official.

So far this season, Davies has taken charge of 12 Championship fixtures and 16 in all EFL competitions, including Burnley's 0-0 draw with Derby County in December.