Willie Collum

For the surgeon and mayor of Jeffersonville, Indiana, see William F. Collum.
Willie Collum
Full nameWilliam Collum
Born18 January 1979
Glasgow, Scotland
Other occupationTeacher
Domestic
YearsLeagueRole
2000–Scottish Football AssociationReferee
2000–2008Scottish Football LeagueReferee
2005–Scottish Premier LeagueReferee
International
YearsLeagueRole
2006–FIFA listedReferee

William "Willie" Collum (born 18 January 1979)[1] is a Scottish football referee.[2]

Career

Collum has refereed international matches,[3] the 2008 Under-19 European Championship final and in the UEFA Cup.[4] He is also a regular referee of Scottish Premier League matches. Collum officiated his first Scottish Football League match in November 2004, and his first SPL match in April 2006. He took charge of his first UEFA Champions League match in September 2010, overseeing Copenhagen's 2–0 win away at Panathinaikos, and has also officiated several high profile international matches and UEFA Europa League matches. On 11 June 2012 it was announced that Collum had been elevated to FIFA Elite Referee level joining Craig Thomson on the 24-strong list of the world’s leading referees.[5]

On 24 October 2010, Collum refereed his first Old Firm match at Celtic Park.[6] Following the match some of Collum's decisions during the game came under scrutiny from Celtic, and he received death threats against him and his family which were described as having a 'sectarian undertone'.[7]

On 19 December 2011, Collum was appointed to referee the second Old Firm derby of the season at Celtic Park. Contrary to his previous Old Firm derby match, this one passed without many major incidents, although the linesman incorrectly ruled out Rangers goal in the first half. He was credited for keeping control of what could have been a very dangerous game.[8]

Collum has been appointed to referee the 2013 Scottish Cup Final between Hibernian and Celtic, his first decisive match of the oldest football tournament in Scotland and second cup final overall, after overseeing 2012 Scottish League Cup Final.

Teaching career

Collum was previously the principal teacher of the Religious Education department at Cardinal Newman High School, Bellshill,[9] however he stood down as principal in August 2011 to concentrate more on his refereeing.[10] He then taught R.E. at St Aidan's High School in Wishaw, eventually returning to Cardinal Newman High School as an R.E. teacher in August 2012.[10] He started his teaching career in 2001 at St Ambrose High School, Coatbridge alongside the disgraced[11] Bob Winslow.

References

  1. ↑ Profile on the SFA website
  2. ↑ "Hibernian 0–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Andorra v Estonia". Soccerbase. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  4. ↑ "Domzale v Hapoel Tel Aviv". Soccerbase. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "Willie Collum joins world refereeing elite". 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Weekend referees named". Scotprem.co.uk. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Collum receives death-threats". DailyRecord.co.uk. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "Referee Appointments" (PDF). Scottish FA. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  9. ↑ Pattullo, Alan (25 October 2010). "Man in the middle can't get away from fact that penalty call defined his game". The Scotsman (Scotland). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Ref quits teaching post to be on pitch". The Sun. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  11. ↑ Keith McLeod (15 April 1999). "Teacher in sex probe; Former Childline worker denies boys' trip incident". Daily Mail.

External links