David Allison (referee)

For other people of the same name, see David Allison (disambiguation).

David Allison

Personal information
Full name	David B Allison
Born	September 27, 1948 (1948-09-27) (age 63) Lancashire, England
Other occupation	Teacher
Domestic
Years	League	Role
1977-1980	Football League	Linesman
1980-1992	Football League	Referee
1992-1997	Premier League	Referee

David B. Allison (born 27 September 1948) is an English former football referee, who operated in the English Football League and Premier League. During his time on the List he was based in Lancaster and was by profession a teacher.^[1]

Career

He became a Football League linesman in 1977 and three years later achieved promotion to the referees' list at the age of thirty-one. He made steady progress in his early years but by the late 1980s was becoming a regular top division referee, often handling Lancashire derby games including those involving the big Manchester and Liverpool clubs.

He became one of the first Premier League referees in 1992,^† shortly after taking charge of his most senior cup appointment - a League Cup semi-final first leg between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur. His first match in that competition was the 4-1 home win by Middlesbrough against Leeds United at Ayresome Park on August 28.^[2]

Over the next two years he handled a large number of matches in the new League. However in 1994 the Premier League moved to a rather smaller list of officials who would handle its matches and he was not selected.

He reverted back to exclusive duty in the Football League, where his appointments included the 1996 Division One play-off final between Leicester City and Crystal Palace, which he rated his most memorable match.^[1] He retired at the end of the following season (1996-97).^[1] In his seventeen years as a referee he controlled 463 matches in the Football and Premier Leagues.

He later became a Football League regional co-ordinator and referees' coach,^[3] before being appointed National Group Manager in charge of the 57 top referees for Professional Game Match Officials Limited on August 10, 2007.^[4]

Personal life

David has two daughters, pennelope anne and Lucy. He currently lives with his partner Sheila and has two step gran children Heather and Emma.
David was a much respected teacher of languages but retired a few years ago, he is a family man.

References

Print

• Football League Handbooks, 1977–1979
• Rothmans Football League Yearbooks, 1980–1997
• ^†Bateson, Bill; Albert Sewell (1992). News of the World Football Annual 1992/93. Harper Collins, p45. ISBN 0-85543-188-1

Internet

1. ^ ^{a b c} Profiled in article, May 8, 1997: ThisIsLancashire.co.uk website. Retrieved on September 28, 2007.
2. ^ First ever Premiership match, 1992: soccerbase.com website.
3. ^ Confirming his post-referee involvements, feature from February 21, 2002: ChorleyCitizen.co.uk website. Retrieved on September 28, 2007.
4. ^ Statement regarding his appointment as National Group Manager for PGMOL: the Football League Official website.

External links

• David Allison Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com

Persondata
Name	Allison, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 27, 1948
Place of birth	Lancashire, England
Date of death
Place of death