Newcastle United fans were outraged earlier this week when Huddersfield-born referee Andrew Madley was selected to officiate the Magpies' match against Preston North End on Monday.

Newcastle sit seven points clear of Town in second place in the Championship, but the Terriers have a game in hand on the Toon.

And the Toon faithful clearly see Town as a direct rival for automatic with promotion due to the controversy caused by the appointment.

This controversy has even led Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez to comment on the situation surrounding the man in the middle.

Rafa Benitez press conference at the training ground

At his pre-Preston press conference, Benitez said: "I was really surprised with that situation.

"We have to trust the referees. We have not had a lot of luck with them.

"I always trust the referees, and hopefully everything will be fine and we are not talking about the referees at the end of the game."

The 33-year-old referee has officiated Newcastle three times over the course of the season, with Benitez's side drawing 2-2 with Norwich, beating Preston 6-0 in the EFL Cup and claiming a 4-1 victory over Reading with Madley in the middle.

Andrew Madley is the brother of Huddersfield Town fan Bobby, who took charge of Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in February.

Andrew's affiliations are not known, but he has never taken charge of a Town game.