Ashington referee supports bid to ban abuse

The 23-year-old, who has risen from refereeing under-10s games in his home town of Ashington to Championship matches across the country, is backing the FA Respect campaign to clean up the game.

He said: "It is probably the under-15 and 16 level that is the hardest. You go there and you are surrounded by people you don't know.

"You are one of about 50 people at the pitch and you are there by yourself, out in the middle.

"You have a game to referee but the parents are right on the sidelines and are close enough to get involved.

"It is a lot more daunting than the Football League."

Drawing on his own experience, Mr Oliver said that the worst incident he had encountered as an official happened early on in his career at a junior game when two irate coaches confronted him on the field.

But he is also keen to stress that badly behaved mums and dads are the exception to the rule and that the majority do not cause problems.

He said: "The problem you have is that there are a lot of games happening on a weekend, and in most nothing happens.

"It is probably 99 out of 100 that are fine, but then you tend to hear about the one game where there is an incident.

"Most of the time with parents it is not malicious.

"They see their son or daughter getting fouled and will say something, and then the parent of the other player will have a go back.

"Usually it is just a case of enthusiasm going too far."

But this over-enthusiasm is also one of the reasons why referees are walking away from the game in high numbers.

Last week The Journal reported how the Northumberland FA is planning to recruit 100 new referees over the next four years to cater for the number of games taking place and the shortage of qualified officials.

Mr Oliver said that a lot of officials quit the role within the first six months of picking up the whistle because they are shocked by the abuse officials face.

The county FA is also to increase the number of its referee instructors, and to recruit more referee coaches as part of a host of national initiatives to improve the game.

And Mr Oliver added that he thought attitudes were already changing.

He said that the media and senior-level players and mangers had a role to play as role models to younger players.

He added: "The Respect campaign will play a big part, but there are a number of things that will make a difference.

"There are people who have played Sunday morning football for 10 or 15 years and you aren't going to change them.

"But you can change the kids coming through. You'll never get rid of it entirely, but it will certainly help.

"I personally don't think we are that far away from where we want to be - it is one in 100 - but this will all help."

Meteoric rise to top league of football refs

DEALING with irate high-profile football stars is not a problem encountered by many 20-somethings, but then Michael Oliver isn't your average student.

The Sunderland University sports science student's rise to the top levels of the game has been meteoric.

He took up officiating after becoming disillusioned with the game at the age of 14, despite being a promising Newcastle United Academy player, and less than 10 years later finds himself on the cusp of becoming a Premiership referee.

He said: "Last season went really well and I had the interview for the Premier League.

"I have been lucky - all the way through I have got the record for being the youngest but I don't set out to do that.

"There are no targets. I would like to get up next season but if I don't, it doesn't matter. For now it is a case of putting my head down and doing what I did last year."

Highlights of Mr Oliver's career so far include refereeing the Conference play-off final between Morecambe and Exeter at Wembley and his first ever game as referee in the Football League in a match between Hereford and Grimsby.

Last season he came in for some stick in the national Press from Stoke boss Tony Pullis after a vital end-of- season match between the Potteries side and Preston North End.

Mr Oliver said: "When I went into university the next day they had stuck it on the wall, so you can laugh about it.

"We get DVDs of all our games so you watch that and think about things that you could have done differently.

"But then you just have to move on to the next game."

Michael Oliver's career so far

Aged 14 - Starts refereeing junior football in the Coast Colts League in Northumberland

Aged 16 - Progresses to senior football, officiating in the Morpeth Sunday League

Aged 18/19 - Moves up the ladder to the Northern League, Unibond League and Conference North

Aged 19 - Fourth official at Football League game between Hartlepool and Bradford

Aged 21 - Referees first Football League game between Hereford and Grimsby

Aged 22 - Narrowly misses out on becoming a Premier League referee.