Paul Danson

infobox football official
name = Paul Danson


fullname = Paul S Danson
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1958|05|02
cityofbirth = Leicestershire
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
otheroccupation =
years = ? – ?
? –1987
1984–1987
1987–1994
1994–1997
1997–2005
2005–2006
league = Leics. Senior League
Southern League
Football League
Football League
Premier League
Football League
Football League
role = Referee
Referee
Asst. referee
Referee
Referee
Referee
Asst. referee
internationalyears = ?
?
confederation = FIFA
FIFA
internationalrole = Fourth official
Asst. referee

Paul S. Danson (born May 2 1958, Leicestershire [http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RefereeProfilesDetail/0,,10794~628215,00.html Birthdate confirmation and profile] at the Football League official website. Retrieved on July 19 2007.] ) is an English former association football referee in the Football League and Premier League. During his time on the List he was based in Leicester.

Career

In 1972 he qualified as a referee, progressing through the Leicestershire Senior League and the Southern League. He became a Football League linesman in 1984, graduating to the Football League referees list three years later, at the age of only twenty nine.

His major breakthrough came in 1994. He was one of three new referees appointed to the Premier List along with fellow Leicestershire official Peter Jones and Gary Willard from Sussex. Over the next three seasons all his league games were at Premiership level (as was standard for Premiership referees at the time). However, his performances did not always find favour - most notably a game at Highbury between Arsenal and Sunderland on September 28 1996,^† when two away players were sent off before half-time. [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=241434 Arsenal v. Sunderland] , Premier League, 1996: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on March 27 2008.] At the end of the 1996-97 season he was dropped from the Premier List and reverted to Football League level.

For the next few years he was one of its senior officials, often receiving key appointments such as an old First Division play-off semi-final on May 17 2001 at Deepdale, where Preston beat Birmingham after extra-time and penalties (Preston had already missed a spot-kick during the regulation 90 minutes). [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=307538 First Division play-off semi-final, 2001] : soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on March 27 2008.] The then Birmingham manager Trevor Francis was said to be "visibly furious" after Danson moved the location of the penalty shootout from the empty end of the ground to the goal behind which the Preston fans were situated (on police advice), and he removed his players from the field in protest for a short while. [ [http://www.leaguemanagers.co.uk/manager/profile.html?LMAS=7e12eafd2a0463c2f9aa2196d47bdebb&managerid=215 Trevor Francis'] reaction to a Paul Danson decision, 2001 play-off semi-final, Preston v. Birmingham: League Managers Association website. Retrieved on July 19 2007.]

Following a Football League Championship match between Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion at Selhurst Park on September 20 2003, he had to attend hospital in Croydon (Surrey) for treatment, due to being hit in the mouth and rendered unconscious whilst dealing with a three-man altercation on the pitch during the match, which ended 2–2 and generated eight cautions. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030921/ai_n12745584 Injury] to his mouth, Crystal Palace v. West Brom, 2003: Independent on Sunday report via the "FindArticles.com" website. Retrieved on July 19 2007.]

Matters took a very different turn in the 2004-05 season. He refereed only three games in the top division of the Football League and was largely on lower division duty. At the end of that season he lost his place on the League List after a tenure of eighteen years. Potentially he could have had another two years before retirement and had that happened he would have completed twenty years and become the longest-serving referee since the 1920s.^‡ However, he did gain experience in Europe as a fourth official and assistant referee.

He returned to the assistants' list for the first time since 1987, retiring immediately from the Football League referees' list, although he did handle three games in the Football Conference North in season 2005-06 before finishing his top-class career completely.

In his spare time, Rob is a keen archaeologist who enjoys studying churches. He spent 3 years at the University of Sheffield, where he scraped a 2:2 in the subject.

References

Print

*Football League Handbooks 1984-1987
*Rothmans / Sky Sports Football Yearbooks 1987-2006
*Rothmans Football Yearbook (1997), Headline, (^†p14)
* ^‡ Gilbert Upton (2005) Football League and Premiership Referees 1888 to 2005, Soccerdata, p20.

Internet

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/refs2.sd?refid=134 Paul Danson Referee Statistics] at Soccerbase.com