Craig Thomson (referee)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Craig Thomson
Personal information
Full name Craig A Thomson
Date of birth June 20, 1972 (1972-06-20) (age 35)
Place of birth    Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Other occupation    Lawyer
Domestic
Years League Role
 ? -2002
2002-		 Scottish Football League
Scottish Premier League		 Referee
Referee
International
2003- FIFA listed Referee

Craig A. Thomson (born June 20, 1972[1]) is a Scottish football referee, who has been a match official since 1988.[2] He originates from Paisley, Renfrewshire.[3]

Contents

[edit] Career

He has officiated in the Scottish Premier League since 2002, and his first match in charge in that League was the fixture between St. Johnstone and Hibernian on May 12, 2002, which Hibs won 1–0.[4]

Thomson has been a FIFA referee since 2003.[1] His first International match for FIFA was the 4–1 defeat of Northern Ireland by Norway at Windsor Park, Belfast, on June 18, 2004.[5] His next most notable match abroad was the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between the Faroe Islands and France in group four on September 8, 2004, when he sent off Patrick Vieira during a 2–0 win for the French.[6]

Domestically, he handled the 2006 Scottish Challenge Cup Final between Ross County and Clyde at McDiarmid Park on November 12, which Ross won on penalties after extra-time ended 1–1.[7]

He was selected to referee during the UEFA Under-21 Championship 2007, held in Holland.[2] This included him issuing a second yellow card to Belgium's Marouane Fellaini in the 18th minute of their group A match against Israel on June 13 in the Abe Lenstra Stadion. Belgium managed to win 1–0, despite the dismissal.[8] He was not appointed to referee any other games in the Championship.

Thomson will also appear as a fourth official at Euro 2008 in Switzerland & Austria.[9]

[edit] Life beyond football

Craig Thomson is currently a lawyer and is an associate with Maclay, Murray and Spens where he specifies in construction and engineering law.[10] His hobbies and participant sports include golf, squash, chess and going to the cinema.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Referee profile at the Scottish Football Association website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Date Thomson first took up refereeing, also matches or appointments in more detail: the Scottish Football Association website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  3. ^ Home town, Paisley: match report at the Dunfermline Athletic website. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
  4. ^ First Scottish Premier match: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  5. ^ First International match: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  6. ^ Faroe Islands v. France, 2006 World Cup qualifying match, September 8, 2004: ESPNsoccernet website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  7. ^ Scottish Challenge Cup Final, 2006: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  8. ^ Belgium v. Israel, UEFA Under-21 Championship 2007, June 13: ESPNsoccernet website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.
  9. ^ Fourth official duties, Euro 2008: UEFA.com website. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
  10. ^ Professional profile: Maclay, Murray and Spens LLC website. Retrieved on June 16, 2007.

[edit] External links