- Steve Bennett (referee)
infobox football official
name = Steve Bennett
fullname = Stephen Graham Bennett
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1961|1|17
cityofbirth =Farnborough ,Kent
countryofbirth =England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
otheroccupation =
years = ? – ? ? – ? ? –19921992–19931993–19951995–19991999–
league =Kent League Isthmian League Football Conference Football LeaguePremier League Football LeaguePremier League
role = RefereeRefereeRefereeAsst. refereeAsst. refereeRefereeReferee
internationalyears = 1995–20012001–2006
confederation =FIFA listedFIFA listed
internationalrole = Asst. refereeRefereeStephen Graham Bennett (born
17 January 1961 in Farnborough,Kent [http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RefereeProfilesDetail/0,,10794~628215,00.html Birthdate and Biographical detail] :the Football League official website. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .] ) is an English football referee who operates in thePremier League , and previously forFIFA as anassistant referee and then referee.Career
Steve Bennett has been a referee since 1984, starting out in his home county of
Kent .In 1995 he began refereeing in
the Football League , and since 1999 in theFA Premier League . In 2001 he was appointed as an officialFIFA referee.Bennett took charge of an official friendly international match, [ [http://www.bootan.com/bhutan/articles/theotherfinal.shtml Official International Friendly Match] , Bhutan v. Montserrat, 2002: "Bootan.com" website. Retrieved on
March 25 2008 .] known as "The Other Final ", in 2002, between the two lowest FIFA-ranked teams in the world at the time, Bhutan and Montserrat, at theChanglimithang Stadium ,Thimphu ,Bhutan . This took place on the morning of the World Cup Final in that year, and the home side won 4–0. The subsequent documentary film, entitled "The Other Final" and directed by DutchmanJohan Kramer , was released in 2003. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379419/ "The Other Final (2003)"] at IMDB.com website. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .]In 2004 Bennett was criticised by FIFA president
Sepp Blatter for having sent off Everton'sTim Cahill for removing his shirt after scoring against Manchester City. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3650096.stm Sepp Blatter's criticism] :BBC.co.uk news report. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .]Bennett refereed the 2005 League Cup final at the
Millennium Stadium between Chelsea and Liverpool, which the London club won by 3 goals to 2. In October 2005, he was in charge of the World Cup qualifier between Norway and Moldova, when the home side won 1–0 with a goal fromSigurd Rushfeldt . [ [http://www.football.co.uk/match_reports/norway_moldova_3021417.shtml Norway v Moldova] World Cup qualifier: "Football.co.uk" match report. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .]He took charge of the
UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg match in March 2006 between Benfica and Barcelona, the game ending 0–0. Barcelona won the return match 2–0, setting up a final with Arsenal. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4844418.stm Benfica v. Barcelona] , Champions' League, 2006: from a report at the BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved onMarch 27 2008 .]F.A Cup Final 2007
footballbox
date =20 May 2007
team1 = Chelsea
score = 1–0
team2 = Manchester United
goals1 =Drogba 116'
"Makélélé" yel|83
"Kalou" yel|119
"Ferreira" yel|120
"A. Cole" yel|120
goals2 =
"Scholes" yel|58
"Vidić" yel|84
"Smith" yel|105
stadium =Wembley Stadium ,London
Attendance: 89, 826Bennett was chosen to referee the 2007 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United on19 May 2007 , the first at the newWembley Stadium . [ [http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2007/04/CupFinalReferee.htm Confirmation] of FA Cup Final appointment, 2007: TheFA.com official website. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .] Chelsea won by 1–0,Didier Drogba scoring late in the second half ofextra time . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/6649815.stm FA Cup Final 2007] , match report: BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .] Bennett issued seven bookings, four of which came in the added 30 minutes. [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=523823 2007 FA Cup Final] , Chelsea v. Man. Utd.:soccerbase .com website. Retrieved onMarch 27 2008 .]In the first period of extra time,
Ryan Giggs got on the end of aWayne Rooney cross, and althoughPetr Cech gathered the ball, Giggs claimed that the ball had crossed the line, despite sliding into the goalkeeper and seemingly forcing the Chelsea man backwards. Bennett waved play on, but after the game Giggs commented: "It was clearly over the line - that's what I was asking for. I could see it was over the line and the referee did not give a free-kick so it was a goal." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/6668517.stm Comments] from BBC.co.uk website. Retrieved onMarch 25 2008 .]Carlos Queiroz , the Manchester United coach, said: "It is a clear penalty, there is no doubt about that. We are not surprised because after the pressure of the last 15 days it is natural the referee under pressure is not able to make the crucial decision of the game. The more pressure you put on referees the more it seems like some teams and some managers become compensated in the game because nobody does anything about that."Manchester United v. Liverpool, Premier League 2007-08
Bennett was involved in some controversy when he refereed the Manchester United versus Liverpool Premier League encounter on
March 23 2008 . He sent off Liverpool's ArgentineMidfield erJavier Mascherano for a second bookable offence. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/03/24/ufnferg224.xml. Retrieved onMay 5 2008 . ] Liverpool managerRafael Benítez has publicly defended his player. [ [http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/display.var.2141897.0.three_and_easy_for_reds.php Mascherano second yellow card for "persistent dissent"] : from a report at theEvening Times website. Retrieved onMarch 24 2008 . ] Mascherano initially said: "I do not know why I was sent off. I asked the referee what was happening. I did not swear, I was not aggressive and I did not confront him. All I did was ask him what was happening, nothing else. So when he showed me the second yellow card and sent me off I could not believe it." [ [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N159292080324-1208.htm "Masch: I could't believe red card"] : from a report on theLiverpool F.C. website. Retrieved onMarch 24 2008 .] Mascherano later retracted this line, apologizing for his actions and admitting his behavior was inappropriate. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=522561&cc=5901 ESPNsoccernet - England - Reds to appeal ban as Mascherano issues apology ] ] Mascherano admitted a charge of improper conduct, was fined two weeks wages by the club, [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article3639591.ece "Javier Mascherano fined after improper conduct charge"] : from an article atThe Times website. Retrieved onMarch 29 2008 .] and attended a personal hearing before the FA on April 3. Following this, he received a further two-match ban and a £15,000 fine. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=522382&cc=5739 "Mascherano slapped with fine and increased ban"] after personal FA hearing:ESPN soccernet website. Retrieved onApril 3 2008 .]Since the incident,
The Sun national newspaper has launched a 'Shut It' campaign, urging footballers to respect the referee and curb their argumentative behaviour. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article976263.ece "Shut It" campaign] :The Sun website. Retrieved onApril 2 2008 .]Later career
Bennett retired from the FIFA list of referees in 2006, at the compulsory age of 45
Career statistics
(There are no available records prior to 1997/1998)
Facts
3 red cards in a game
* October 1997, Portsmouth (Thompson) v. Bradford (Kulcsar, Pepper)
* January 2001, Tottenham (Sullivan) v. Newcastle (Solano, Dyer)
* November 2006, Colchester (Barker) v. Southend (Maher, Gower)10 cards in a game
* October 1998, Notts County (yel yel yel sent off) v. Lincoln (yel yel yel yel yel sent off)
* November 2002, Tottenham (yel yel yel) v. Leeds (yel yel yel yel yel yel yel)
* March 2005, Bolton (yel yel yel yel yel sent off) v. Arsenal (yel yel yel yel)
* June 2005, Spain (yel) v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (yel yel yel yel yel yel yel sent off sent off)References
External links
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/refs2.sd?refid=125 Steve Bennett Referee Statistics] at
soccerbase .com
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