Howard King (referee)

Last updated

Howard King
Full name Howard King
Born (1946-09-01) 1 September 1946 (age 77)
Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Domestic
YearsLeagueRole
1977-1980 Football League Assistant referee
1980-1994 Football League Referee
1992-1994 Premier League Referee
International
YearsLeagueRole
1980-1991 FIFA listed Referee

Howard King (born 1 September 1946) is a former football referee in the English Football League and Premier League. He also served on the Welsh FIFA List. He was based in Merthyr Tydfil which was also home to Leo Callaghan, one of only three Welsh referees to control the English FA Cup Final.

Contents

Career

Domestic

King became a Football League linesman in 1977 and three years later was promoted to the referees List, aged thirty three. He featured quite frequently in the top division over the next few years and was selected as one of the first Premier League referees for 1992–93 while also continuing to referee Football League matches. His first ever match in the Premier League was the 2–1 home win by Coventry City over Middlesbrough at Highfield Road on 15 August 1992. [1]

King served two years on the Premier List. In December 1993 he handled a fourth round replay in the English League Cup which saw Wimbledon (now MK Dons) beat Liverpool 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw following extra time. [2] This proved to be his final game. He was having injury problems, as he had at various points in his career, and as a result left the List at the end of season 1993–94, a year before he was due to reach retirement age.

International & Europe

Internationally, he refereed the England against Northern Ireland Home International at Wembley in 1983. [3]

He also regularly refereed in Europe. In February 1981 he officiated at the Netherlands versus Cyprus World Cup qualifying match for the 1982 tournament. [4] His most senior club competition tie came in the 1983–84 season with a UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg between Sparta Prague and Hajduk Split. He controlled two European Championships qualifiers – USSR versus Norway in 1986 and, coincidentally, in 1991 the same teams again, this time in Oslo. [5] Shortly afterwards, he retired compulsorily from the FIFA list due to age restrictions.

Personal life

King was married to Sian and has three kids. [6]

In 1995 King was given a ten-year ban from any involvement in football after he admitted accepting prostitutes from clubs. [6]

In 2005 King was reported to police after being spotted in a taxi cab parked at Garwnant Woodlands Park, an area notorious for people meeting up to take part in or watch sex. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Merson</span> English footballer and manager

Paul Charles Merson is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports.

Gary Andrew Pallister is an English former professional footballer and sports television pundit. As a player he was a defender from 1984 to 2001 and is most noted for his nine-year spell at Manchester United, where he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Steve Bruce and won 15 trophies including four Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup Winners Cup.

Robert Styles is an English football Referee from Waterlooville, Hampshire. Throughout his career he officiated in the multiple lower level leagues before making the national list in 1996. He refereed his first FA Premier League game in 2000, and became FIFA listed in 2002. Styles retired from refereeing in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Webb</span> English football referee

Howard Melton Webb MBE is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014.

Barry Knight is an English retired professional football referee, who officiated primarily in the Premier League. He retired in 2008 due to injury.

Stephen John Lodge is an English former football referee, who retired from top-flight officiating at the end of the 2000-2001 season. He lives in Barnsley, Yorkshire, has a wife and one son, and works as a local government officer.

Lee Mason is a retired referee from Bolton, Greater Manchester. From 2006 until 2021, Mason was on the list of Select Group Referees who officiated in the Premier League.

Kenneth Howard Burns (1931–2016) was an English football referee who officiated in the English Football League, and on the FIFA list. During his refereeing career he was based in Stourbridge, in the borough of Dudley, West Midlands, and was by profession a legal executive. He most notably refereed Sunderland AFC's famous 1–0 victory against Leeds United in the 1973 FA Cup Final which is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Burtenshaw</span> English football referee (1926–2023)

Norman Charles Henry Burtenshaw OBE was an English football referee, who officiated in the English Football League and was also on the FIFA list. During his time on the list he was based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Outside of football he originally worked as a night telephonist before becoming a newsagent.

Leo Callaghan was a Welsh association football referee in the English Football League. He was also a Welsh FIFA referee.

Keith Cooper is a Welsh former football referee in the English Football League and Premier League and was also on the Welsh FIFA list. During his time on the List, he was based in Pontypridd.

Robert J. Harris is an English former football referee who operated in the Football League and Premier League. He was for a time regarded as one of the best linesman on the Premier League, before his promotion to first the Football League and then the Premier League referees lists. But his Premier League referee period did not go well as he was the recipient of criticism for some very high-profile contentious incidents at Arsenal, West Ham and Tranmere which without doubt disrupted his time on the referees list. During his refereeing career he was mainly based in the city of Oxford.

Bartley John Homewood was an English former football referee in the Football League and for FIFA. During his time on the List he was based in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.

Rodger Gifford is a Welsh former football referee in the English Football League, Premier League, and member of the Welsh FIFA List. During his time on the List he was based in Llanbradach in Mid Glamorgan. He currently works for the Football Association of Wales.

John Hunting (1935) is an English former football referee who operated in the Football League and for FIFA. During his time on the List he was based in Leicester, where he worked as a university lecturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Jennings</span> English football referee

Eric Thomas Jennings was an English football referee, who operated in the Football League and for FIFA. In his refereeing years he was based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands. Outside football he was employed as a technical representative for a water treatment company.

Keith Paul Stroud is a professional English football referee who officiates in the Football League.

John Lloyd is a Welsh former football player and referee. As a referee he worked in The Football League and Premier League and was a member of the Welsh FIFA List. He is one of only three referees who have made League appearances as a player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Taylor (referee)</span> English football referee (born 1978)

Anthony Taylor is an English professional football referee from Wythenshawe, Manchester. In 2010, he was promoted to the list of Select Group Referees who officiate primarily in the Premier League, and in 2013 became a listed referee for FIFA allowing him to referee European and international matches. In 2015, he officiated the Football League Cup final at Wembley Stadium when Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0. Taylor returned to Wembley later that year to officiate the Community Shield as Arsenal beat Chelsea 1–0. He refereed the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals, both between Chelsea and Arsenal; Arsenal won on both occasions 2–1. Upon the selection, he became the first man to referee a second FA Cup final since Arthur Kingscott in 1901.

Philip J. Joslin is an English association football referee who operates in the Football League. In addition, he has previously held the position of assistant referee for both the Premier League and FIFA, and also fulfilled that role in the 1998 FA Cup Final at Wembley.

References

Print

  • Football League Handbooks, 1977–1979
  • Rothmans Football Yearbooks, 1980–1994
  • Ionescu, Romeo (2003) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Football Championships 1958–2003, Soccer Books Limited.
  • Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Champions Clubs' Cup 1955–1991, Soccer Books Limited.
  • Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Cup Winners Cup 1960–1999, Soccer Books Limited.
  • Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the UEFA Cup 1971–1991, Soccer Books Limited.

Internet

  1. First ever Premiership match Archived 20 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine , Coventry v. Middlesbrough, 1992: soccerbase.com website.
  2. League Cup fourth round replay, Wimbledon v. Liverpool, 1993: soccerbase.com website.
  3. Home Internationals, England v. Northern Ireland, 1983: TheFA.com website.
  4. World Cup qualifying match Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Netherlands v. Cyprus, 1981: srcf.ucam.org statistical website.
  5. European Championships qualifying match Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Norway v. USSR, 1991: srcf.ucam.org statistical website.
  6. 1 2 3 WalesOnline (3 November 2005). "Ref King's sex shame". walesonline. Retrieved 20 November 2016.