The next Jeff Winter or Mike Riley may just be around the corner as four of the region’s most promising young referees have returned from the heat of European competition with glowing praise ringing in their ears.
After a gruelling selection and training process, the four North Riding County FA teenage referees, Dane McCarrick and Tim Craig, both 19 from Middlesbrough, Jonty Gill also 19 from Northallerton and George Roberts, 18 from Scarborough, were selected to represent the next breed of top class whistlers at the Iber Cup in Estoril, Portugal where the world’s best youth footballers gather every year.
Guided by the county’s Referee Development Officer Ross Joyce and Development Coach Andy Himsworth, the officials excelled in temperatures exceeding 35C, drawing praise from all corners and receiving plum appointments to semi-final games for the week long competition.
Jonty Gill went one step further, securing the highest assessment mark of all 150 referees attending the competition, his performances rewarded by being selected to officiate in a final game in the Estoril Stadium.
Gill, who celebrated his 19th birthday in Portugal, said, “It was fantastic week and hard to comprehend that I only started refereeing 28 months ago and here I am officiating in the final of world’s most prestigious youth competition.”
North Riding County FA Referee Development Officer, Ross Joyce said, “Without doubt this tournament has been the most powerful piece of referee development we have undertaken in the last eight years.”
“As a sign of how well all four referees performed, each was awarded with a plum semi-final appointment and Jonty went one further with his role as assistant referee in a final. The county FA is so proud of all four.”
Middlesbrough referee Dane McCarrick admits, “I’ve come back to England a much better referee than when I left. This has truly been one the most nourishing, enjoyable and memorable experiences, not just of my refereeing career, but of my life!
George Roberts added, “This was a first class experience, not only just to officiate abroad but also to compete with the difficulties of language barriers and having to officiate with referees from other countries.”