Inside the world of a Premier League referee

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Emma Paton (1:46)

And if you want to get a free professional referee, today we'll be getting into just that, joined by former Premier League official, Graham Scott, for a Q&A episode to talk anything and everything when it comes to refereeing. Welcome to The Athletic FC Podcast.

Hi everyone, I'm Emma Paton, and here with me in this studio, we have The Athletic's football reporter, Tim Spiers. Hello, welcome. Hello. Hello, The Athletic's deputy managing editor, Dan Kilpatrick. Hello.

Dan Kilpatrick (2:17)

Is that your title?

Tim Spiers (2:19)

For news.

Dan Kilpatrick (2:20)

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Dan Kilpatrick (2:26)

You can just say news editor.

Emma Paton (2:28)

Okay.

Next time. And former Premier League referee, Graham Scott. Thank you so much for joining us.

Graham Scott (2:33)

Great to be here.

Emma Paton (2:34)

We're really excited about this episode. So I guess probably a really good place to start is with a bit of background on you. Tell us a little bit about your journey. Were you always into football growing up, and what led you to being a referee?

Graham Scott (2:47)

Yeah, I was into football definitely. So my dad used to go off to football, and I went shopping with my mum until I was five. And then I got the offer to go towards Windontown, and believe it or not, I said yes.

Didn't know any better then. And that got me hooked. And whenever football was on the telly, I wanted to watch. Of course, it was much less then. And then I started playing. I kept playing all the way through my teens and into my 20s. I only stopped playing when I was 27, played kind of lower level non-league football as a goalkeeper. And then took up reffing only after that. So I was quite late to it.

Emma Paton (3:21)

At what point were you like, right, I want to be a ref?

Graham Scott (3:24)

Only really when I stopped playing. And then I had a season off. Did a bit of traveling, but felt I was missing football. I really wanted to be involved in the game. And being on the field was always going to be better than sitting in the stands or trying somehow to become a coach, which wouldn't have been for me anyway, I don't think. So, yeah, it was to be involved and to keep fit.

I noticed to be less fit after a year out, so wanted to be on the field and had always been drawn a little bit to the role. So when it came around to deciding what to do, it was probably a fairly simple choice, I guess.

Emma Paton (4:00)

What was it that drew you to it?

Graham Scott (4:03)

I think it is being on the field, but also a strong sense of justice and fair play, just wanting to see a fair outcome. And I think most referees are driven by that. There is a small number who are driven by power.