Joe Ross (referee)

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Joe Ross (born 1959) is a referee in the Football League who has also officiated in the Premiership as an assistant referee. Before the 2001–02 season, Ross was named as an official Football League referee, to become the first black referee from London. However, in his first season as referee, he was involved in a dispute with former Liverpool player, then Oxford United manager, Mark Wright, who claimed Ross should "not even be refereeing in the Unibond League" to the Oxford Mail after a match between United and Scunthorpe where Ross handed out two red cards and, again according to the Oxford Mail, made "a series of errors throughout the match and appeared to lose control near the end". Wright was later found guilty of racial and abusive language towards Ross, and resigned from the job at Oxford United following the incident. Ross remained as a Football League referee for four seasons, but as of the 2005–06 season Ross has been demoted to the list of assistant referees.