Meet The Ref - Stevenage v Latics

Latics are signing off the season this Saturday with an away trip to playoff hopefuls Stevenage very important fixture for with a lot at stake in League One, the referee for the game will be Hampshire based official, Matthew Russell.

 

Matt Russell is in his 2^nd season on the National List, he graduated from the National League South in 2019, and served a four year apprenticeship in the National League before plying his trade in the EFL.

 Previous Games

This will be Matt Russell’s third Wigan Athletic game having been in charge our 1:1 home draw with Blackpool last season in late April, and our away 1:1 draw against Blackpool, this season in March.

In both games Russell booked one Latics player, Callum McManaman in the home fixture and Fraser Murray in the away one.

Defender Jon Melish opened the scoring in the first game for us, a goal very early in the match on 3 minutes, Melish’s only goal for the Latics last season, whilst in the away game Blackpool defender, Oliver Casey, scored in the 4^th minute of the game to put the Seasiders one up, his only goal of the season too.

Matt Russell has just the one Stevenage game under his belt, their 3:1 away defeat to Wycombe in February this year.

Matt Russell’s Latics Game

Date	Competition	Result	Latics Cards
07 Mar 2026	League One	Blackpool 1:1 Latics	1Y
26 Apr 2025	League One	Latics 1:1 Blackpool	1Y

 

 

 

Matt Russell Card Watch 2025/26

Games – 28

Yellows – 75

Reds – 5

Penalty Awards – 7

Stevenage v Wigan Athletic
Referee – Matt Russell
Assistants – Rob Smith and Mike Webb
Fourth Official – James Durkin

Grab a listen to the latest PWU Latics podcast featuring a preview of the Stevenage game

Meet The Ref - Latics v AFC Wimbledon

 The final home game of the season is upon us, relegation threatened AFC Wimbledon visit the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday to face Gary Caldwell’s charges in a League One fixture, the referee is scheduled to be Chesterfield born official, Matt Corlett.

34-year-old Matt Corlett is in his third season in the EFL following promotion to the National List of refs in August 2023.

Previous Games

In his relatively short career so far, Corlett has refereed just the one Latics’ game previously, our incident packed visit to Edgely Park back in February, a game that saw the Latics take the lead twice through Joe Taylor goals, receive two red cards, Steven Sessegnon and Maleace Asamoah, and subsequently lose the game 4:2, Stockport scoring an offside opener and a late, late winner courtesy of a Kyle Wooton handball.

Matt Corlett’s latest Wimbledon game came in October this season, a very creditable 1:2 away win at Home Park against Plymouth Argyle in a League One fixture, the Dons picking up three yellows in that match.

Matt Corlett’s Latics Game

Date	Competition	Result	Latics Cards
21 Feb 2026	League One	Stockport 4:2 Latics	3Y & 2R

Matt Corlett Card Watch 2025/26

Games – 34

Yellows – 141

Reds – 6

Penalties – 3

Wigan Athletic v AFC Wimbledon

Referee – Matt Corlett

Assistants – Grant Taylor & Oliver Bickie

4^th Official – Mark Ryder

Grab a listen to the latest podcast featuring a preview of the Wimbledon game.

Meet The Ref - Port Vale v Latics

Latics are in action on Sunday, for the penultimate away trip of the season, a jaunt down the M6 to Vale Park to face Port Vale in a League One fixture, the referee scheduled for the game is Merseyside based official, Elliott Bell.

The Liverpool born whistle blower made his EFL debut in April 2024, quickly making progress to the Select Group 2, Bell is now fully fledged and more often than not he can be found officiating in the Championship.

This will be Elliott Bell’s first game refereeing the Latics, though he has been on 4^th official duties in our games, most recently Wrexham away in December 2024.

Bell has refereed Port Vale once previously, their 0:1 away win at Harrogate in October 2024.

Elliott Bell Card Watch 2025/26

Games – 44

Yellows – 164

Reds – 5

Penalties – 6

 Port Vale v Wigan Athletic

Referee – Elliott Bell

Assistants – Sam Wesson & Jason Roberts

4^th Official – Karl Buckley

Grab a listen to the latest podcast which contains a preview of the Port Vale game.

PWU Latics Podcast Player Of The Season 2025/26

The 2025/26 PWU Podcast Player of the Season voting is now open and will be conducted via a specifically created email address pwupots@gmail.com

 

 

So who is your choice as Wigan Athletic player of the season?

The academy once again has been extremely well represented in the Latics starting XI each week, with a high number of graduates starting games on a regular basis. Some excellent performances throughout the campaign from Tickle, Carragher, Brenan, Bettoni, Chapman et al.

There have been some very good performances from the older, more experienced lads too. Jason Kerr, club captain of course, has led the lads both on and off the pitch. Kerr provides that solid base to build on, and he has been aided and abetted by Will Aimson and Morgan Fox.

Loan signing Joe Taylor has been a revelation since joining in January, not only the leading scorer in the current squad but also a real talisman. Callum Wright is another loanee who has lit up the team with top performances, adding assists to an excellent goal tally for the midfielder.

Summer signing Fraser Murray started the season on fire and he has rediscovered his fine form at a most important time, another player with goals and assists to his name. Fans favourite Matt Smith turned in another great season and Jenson Weir has put in some top displays of late.

Our man of the match polls throughout the season have seen 15 different players pick up the accolade voted for by you, the supporters, below is a list of the winners so far this campaign.

Man of The Match Winners 2025/26

Joe Taylor, Callum Wright, Will Aimson, Dara Costelloe, James Carragher, Harrison Bettoni, Matt Smith, Jason Kerr, Fraser Murray, Tobias Brenan, Matt Smith, Llyton Champman, Christian Saydee, Sam Tickle and Jensen Weir

Whatever criteria you use, goals, defending, consistency, match winners, personality, get you off your seat moments, leadership or a combination of those, consider, choose and vote via the dedicated email address.

To vote, simply send an email with your player nomination to pwupots@gmail.com mark your email POTS 2026.

2024/25 Winner – Jason Kerr 

 Grab a listen to our nominations on the POTS Special podcast