The referees have been selected for Carlisle United’s huge League Two play-off semi-final games against Bradford City.

Ross Joyce will be the man in the middle for Sunday’s first leg at Valley Parade.

And Simon Mather will preside over the second leg at Brunton Park on Saturday week.

Cleveland official Joyce has encountered Carlisle twice before this season.

The most recent occasion was the Blues’ 1-0 league win at Rochdale in January.

The referee showed five yellow cards that day, three to United players.

Before that he was the ref for the 0-0 draw with Crewe Alexandra at Brunton Park in October, with four bookings issued, one to United and three to the visitors.

Since 2015 he has refereed 15 Blues games, witnessing eight wins, five draws and two defeats for Carlisle.

He was in the middle for the 1-0 home win against Mansfield Town last April which sealed United’s League Two status.

Joyce has issued one red card to a Carlisle player in the last eight years – Jamie Devitt in the 3-2 win over Exeter City in November 2016.

His last meeting with the Bantams was their 3-1 home win over Sutton United in April in League Two, when there were two bookings apiece for the two teams. He has made two previous trips to Valley Parade this season – a 1-0 Bradford win over Harrogate Town in the league, and a 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

Joyce’s assistant referees for the Bradford first leg are Lisa Rashid and Leigh Crowhurst, with Scott Oldham the fourth official.

Manchester referee Mather will then be in charge for the second leg at United’s ground.

His most recent encounter with the Blues was the rearranged 2-1 win at Grimsby Town in September, when three yellow cards were shown, two to United players.

Before that Mather has presided over United defeats – the 2-1 loss at Salford City and the 4-0 reverse at Sutton United last term, the latter producing a red card for Carlisle’s Manasse Mampala.

This season Mather has issued six red cards and 138 bookings from his 33 games in Leagues One and Two, the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Football League Trophy.

One of those red cards came in his last encounter with Bradford, as Mather dismissed Bantams defender Matty Platt for a second bookable offence in their 2-1 win at Mansfield Town.

Mather’s assistants at Brunton Park will be Darren Williams and Steven Rushton, with Ben Speedie the fourth official.

There is further Cumbrian involvement in the play-offs, meanwhile, in the form of referee Anthony Backhouse.

He will be in charge of Peterborough United’s League One semi-final first leg with Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.

It comes after Backhouse was also selected to referee the FA Vase final at Wembley on Sunday, May 21.

Carlisle manager Paul Simpson's son Joe, meanwhile, is one of the assistant referees for Bolton Wanderers' third-tier semi-final first leg against Barnsley on Saturday.