Meet The Ref - Latics Vs Hull - Andre Marriner

The Wigan Athletic Vs Hull City 3rd FA cup tie at the DW Stadium on Saturday will be refereed by Birmingham official Andre Marriner.

The 39 year old has been a top flight referee since taking charge of the Latics v Fulham game in 2005

So far this season Marriner has been in charge of 15 Premier League games issuing 59 yellow cards and 7 red but he upset Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson when he failed to send off Jamie Carragher for a foul on Michael Owen at Anfield earlier this season when Owen was through on goal.

Marriner first got into refereeing because he liked the money, his words not mine, he reveals this information in a recent interview he gave with refworld.com:

How did you get introduced into refereeing?

I went along to watch a local football team that had asked me to play for them. The referee had not turned up and so as I was a neutral at the game, they asked me to referee it. It was an end to end game and I really enjoyed the experience. At the end of the game, they even handed over £10.00 for my services!!!

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The highlight for me personally is the day that I received my letter inviting me to referee on the Southern Football League following a successful interview. This made me realise that I was going to referee semi professional football

What is the best game you have officiated and why?

Without a doubt, it will always be the 2003 Inaugural Conference Play Off Final between Doncaster Rovers and Dagenham & Redbridge. It was a massive game at that stage of my career as it led me to be promoted onto The National List as a referee.

Who has been the biggest influence in your career and why?

There is no single person that I can name as everybody I have worked with and met to do with refereeing have had some kind of influence on me.

Well there you have it, a money grabber who listens to no one, only joking Andre, here`s hoping that he has a quiet game on Saturday and the only talking points are the goals that the Latics have scored.














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