A TEAM of referees will take on a team of managers on Saturday in the ultimate footballing grudge match.

But it's all in good fun at the annual charity match, created to improve relations between the men in black and team bosses from the Bradford Sunday Alliance league.

Now in its third year the game, at Idle Cricket Club, has raised £1,300 for charities and this year will benefit the Bradford Burns Unit.

Referees' manager Darius Bradley said: "It all started out after a bit of banter between myself and a manager where I joked I could put a team together to give him a game and it morphed into an annual event."

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The man managing the managers is Stephen Thwaites of Prospect AFC, who said: "Everyone is trying to get into the squad to play against the referees but the main thing is we need to raise as much money as possible."

With two games played, the series is tied at 1-1. In the inaugural game the referees came back from a 3-0 half-time deficit only to lose a penalty shootout, while the following year saw the managers triumph 6-4 in a ten-goal thriller.

The game kicks off at 3pm and is accompanied with a family fun day with events from 2pm including a barbecue, bouncy castle, raffle and tombola.

Channelling Kevin Keegan, Thwaites added: "I would love it if we beat them."

The game kicks off at 3pm.