George Courtney

infobox football official


name = George Courtney
fullname = George Courtney
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1941|6|4
cityofbirth = Spennymoor, County Durham
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
otheroccupation = Headteacher
years = ? -1973
1971-1974
1973-1974
1974-1992
league = Northern League
Football League
(Supplementary List)
Football League
role = Referee
Assistant referee
Referee
Referee
internationalyears = 1977-1991
confederation = FIFA listed
internationalrole = Referee

George Courtney (born June 4 1941 [ [http://www.weltfussball.de/schiedsrichter_profil.php?id=12996 Birthdate] confirmation de icon at "Weltfußball.de" website.] ) is an English former football referee based in Spennymoor, County Durham, and said to be a freemason. [ [http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-12/p-41.php Confirming] his freemasonry: from an article at the "MQMagazine" website.] His vocational career was spent as a primary school headteacher.

Ascent through English refereeing

George started refereeing in 1961, he firstly started refereeing school games in and around his area of Spennymoor. He later carried out both linesman and refereeing duties for the Northern League [ [http://www2.newsquest.co.uk/the_north_east/sport/BACKTRACK5.html Northern League officiating] , mentioned: news article at the "ThisIsTheNorthEast" website.] before becoming a Football League linesman in 1971. Just two years later he was appointed to the supplementary panel of referees and one year after that was included in the full list of referees at the age of only thirty three. In 1976, despite only being in his second year as a Football League referee, he was appointed to the decisive match for the League title in which Liverpool staged a dramatic recovery to beat Wolves and overtake QPR.

In 1977 he made the FIFA panel of referees. He had achieved this feat in only three seasons which was, until the case of Martin Atkinson in 2006, the quickest in modern times. In 1979 he took charge of the Charity Shield and was back at Wembley the following May for the ultimate honour of the FA Cup Final between West Ham and Arsenal.

Years at the top

Pat Partridge's retirement in 1981 followed by the unexpected early departure of another World Cup referee, Clive White the following year led to Courtney becoming the dominant refereeing figure of the 1980s. He took charge of the 1983 League Cup Final, thus completing the hat trick of major Wembley matches. He went on to referee numerous FA Cup semi-finals as well as many top division games. He was due to retire in 1989 but in common with a number of other senior and respected officials at that time was granted an extension. He went on to serve three extra years on the list.

International experience

Courtney was a frequent figure in UEFA competitions and handled finals such as the 1989 Cup Winners Cup Final. He was England's representative at the 1984 European Championships, followed by the FIFA World Cups of 1986 and 1990. His appointment for the third place play-off in 1986 is the furthest any English referee has reached at the World Cup since Jack Taylor controlled the Final in 1974. The only competition he missed was the 1988 European Championships when Keith Hackett was selected.

Retirement

Courtney retired from the FIFA list at the end of 1991 at the age of fifty. He was one of the last referees to have that privilege, as they reduced the maximum age for their officials to forty five at that point. He served out the rest of that season in England. He took charge of an unprecedented second League Cup Final in 1992. The final match of his eventful career was the the play-off game between Blackburn and Leicester for a place in the new Premier League. Although extensions were still possible for over-age referees he had decided to retire from League refereeing, a few weeks short of his fifty-first birthday.

Courtney is a past student of Chester University College. [ [http://www.studentguidebook.co.uk/CHESTER-UNIVERSITY-COLLEG.html Past student] of Chester University College: "Student Guide Book" website.] He later became Director of Community Projects at Middlesbrough F.C. [ [http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-12/p-42.php Director] at Middlesbrough F.C.: from an article at the "MQ Magazine" website.] He is now a UEFA delegate, charged with reporting on stadium and crowd control issues at UEFA matches, such as during the 1-0 UEFA Champions League win by F.C. Shakhtar Donetsk at S.L. Benfica on October 3 2007. [ [http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/ucl/2008/md02_2_fs.pdf UEFA delegate] - example match, S.L. Benfica v. F.C. Shakhtar Donetsk, UEFA Champions League, October 2007: PDF file at the UEFA.com website.]

References

Print

*Freddi, Cris (1998) The complete Book Of the World Cup, Collins Willow.
*Football League handbooks
*Rothmans Football Yearbooks

Internet