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Iget people who play top level sport and never wish to be an of cial, but for those who have never tried it or
for those who have tried it once and didn’t like it (like me with celery!!) and still continue to berate and poo-poo of cialdom – shame on you! I never played sport at a great level but I loved playing any sport. But keeping the substitutes bench warm for the RAPTC (Germany) football team was my cue to give something back to the sport and I never looked back.
The RAPTC has a vast array of excellent
of cials in a multitude of sports
performing at all levels, and so we
should as we are the bastions of sport
in the Army and of ciating is an integral
part of sport. Without of cials, sport doesn’t happen – Believe it or not!
My refereeing journey started in 1994 in Germany completing the Army Football Referee course and having cut my teeth on matches over there I worked my way through the promotion system to a decent level before returning to home shores where I of ciated in Wales, Scotland and England. All at varying standards but on every step I was learning from experiences that I came across, from herding sheep off a pitch in Wales, to working with a senior assistant referee in Scotland who picked up a Scotch Pie that had been thrown at him and ate it on the line as the game was going on to the 22 man mass brawl in England – could have done with our boxing referees on that one!! These were all experiences that were hilarious but gave me adrenalin rushes that stood me in good stead for future matches.
Of ciating is the same as being a sportsman and you have highs and lows, exhilaration and kicks in the proverbial. Having
progressed through the promotion system quickly, I went to Scotland who didn’t recognize anything I had done before apart from being quali ed and I had to start at pub level games. I was fortunate when I returned from Scotland that the guy who was head of the Football League referees in England was ex RAF and had been based up in Kinloss so knew the standard of football I had been doing (Highland League Referee and Scottish Football League Assistant Referee) and put me in at a comparable level in England (some English colleagues would say that was pub level again!). Two seasons later in summer 2005, I got promoted to the Premier league list of of cials, something I had only dreamt about.
At this point, the highs and lows didn’t cease. My rst game on the Premier league involved the infamous Ben Thatcher forearm smash on Pedro Mendes! Welcome to the big time! At the start of my second season, I made a decision on the Bolton v Liverpool game that not only affected that match but also a career changer for me. I was “punished” for ten weeks after that and it was a time when I had to dig hard into my mental reserves to stay strong and believe in my ability; that got me there but I always believe the strong will come through those times and the weak will not. From that day on, I started building up my reputation with my colleagues and players to the point that after 11 years on the Premier league list, I was appointed as assistant referee for the
2016 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium between Manchester United and Crystal Palace. It is the pinnacle of any referee’s career and one I will never forget. The level of pride I felt that day walking out in front of around 90,000 fans but more importantly my family and friends was immeasurable. But I was there to do a job and
OFFICIATING AT THE TOP LEVEL
WO2 (QMSI) A Halliday RAPTC