28-year old Oliver Langford is the referee for today's match between Tranmere Rovers and Charlton Athletic. It's his first year on the National List. He started at age 15 in the Midland Combination, so it's possible I've seen him at Leamington. You can read more about him here: Referee
He sounds quite a decent guy and I have to say that the referees and linos in League 1 have been no worse than those in the Championship and in some cases better. The linos seem to understand how to apply the offisde rule and the referees are fair minded and not overly interventionist.
There may be a reason for this. The Peter Principle says that everyone is promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. It may be that in League 1 we have referees and linos who are still on their way up and are eager to impress by doing a good job. The Championship may have its fair share of jobsworths who have peaked.
1 comment:
The article was obviously written last season Wyn as this is Ollie's second season on the list.
Agree about refs & assistants at this level but getting off-side decisions correct is aided by the much slower pace of the game. Also we look at them more benevolently because we seem to be getting more decisions going in our favour!
Post a Comment