Ray Tinkler

Raymond Tinkler, who comes from Boston, Lincolnshire, was an English football referee, most notable for making a controversial decision in the 1970-71 season.

During a game between Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion at Elland Road on April 17 1971, with the score already at 1-0 to West Brom, Tinkler allowed play to continue when a linesman flagged for offside. Albion player Tony Brown had intercepted a ball and carried on running. However, Colin Suggett appeared to be in an offside position and the Leeds players stopped when they saw the flag was raised. This resulted in West Bromwich's Jeff Astle scoring a goal to make it 2-0. Tinkler's decision to overrule the linseman was perfectly legitimate, as the ball remained in Brown's possession and was never actually played to Suggett. However, the decision caused outrage at the time; he was surrounded by Leeds players, a Leeds fan ran on to the pitch before being removed by police, and even Leeds manager Don Revie entered the pitch to argue with him. Leeds lost the game 2-1, losing impetus in the Division One title race, which they eventually lost by one point to Arsenal. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/864341.stm "Ref justice!"] , article recalling the 1971 Leeds v. WBA match: BBC.co.uk website.]

Tinkler is a retired Chairman of the Football Association Referees’ Committee and The Referees' Association. [ [http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Refereeing/InstructorTraining/Postings/2004/02/NationalInstructorsCourse.htm Confirmation] of former 'Chair' positions: TheFA.com website.] He is currently Chairman of Lincolnshire FA. [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1982146,00.html Current] 'Chair' position with "Lincolnshire FA": Guardian Unlimited website.]

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