Features - Preston Referees Society

Top referee Chris Foy meets the new boys

Premier League referee Chris Foy was the guest speaker at the March meeting of Preston Referees Society where he explained his journey from the local parks in Warrington to refereeing the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

He decided to take up the whistle after being injured in one brutal encounter where he got little or no support from the referee and felt that he could do better. Foy explained that it wasn’t all plain sailing; he suffered the usual setbacks of indifferent club marks and poor assessments before finally getting his game together.

He was appointed onto the Football League list of referees at the age of 32 and was one of the first members of the Select Group of referees when the FA Premier League was founded in 2000.

Countless premier division games later plus trips to Wembley to referee the FA Trophy in 2007, he was 4th official in the 2008 Cup Final, he refereed the 2009 League Cup final Manchester Utd v Tottenham Hotspurs followed by the FA Community Shield Chelsea v Manchester Utd in 2009 and finally the biggest prize in refereeing when he was appointed to referee the 2010 Cup Final Chelsea v Portsmouth.

Society chairman Eamonn McNamara said, “We were delighted that Chris Foy to the time to visit us and I am sure that all of us benefited from his presentation. The Preston Society with 151 members is one of the biggest in the country and we have an excellent crop of young referees who we will coach, guide and mentor up the promotion ladder”.

Anyone interested in joining Preston Referees Society is asked to ring 01772 864466.