• ‘There should be credit given to their knowledge of the game’
Professional footballers are to be encouraged into a second career in refereeing by an initiative to be set up by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association within the next two years.
At present former footballers who try to break into refereeing have no advantage over members of the public with no experience in the game. With the journey from Sunday leagues to Premier League taking at least 10 years, a player who retires in their mid-30s will be approaching 50 and pondering a second retirement before they reach the highest level. Though age limits have been abandoned in recent years the oldest referees currently officiating in the top flight are Neil Swarbrick and Roger East, who are 51.
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