On Friday 25th March, Brian Winter was 4th official at his first ever international appointment, the World Cup U-21 qualifying match between Georgia and Greece. He followed that on Saturday 3rd April as referee on his first Scottish Premier League (SPL) fixture between, Livingston and Dunfermline.
Brian travelled to Georgia with match referee Ian Brines (Renfrewshire) and assistant referees, James Bee (Edinburgh) and Jim Lyon (Aberdeen).
The team of four began their journey to the country's capital city of Tbilisi from central Scotland on Wednesday 23rd. After an overnight stay in London, the party flew from London to Vienna and on to their final destination on the Thursday, the match scheduled to be played on the evening of Friday 25th.
One of the highlights of this trip for Brian was the fact that every aspect of his (and the team's) itinerary was planned down to the last detail and while this took a bit of getting used to, Brian thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. On the morning of the match day the officials were taken to the stadium (home of Dynamo Tbilisi) for a pre-match briefing that included such subjects as discussion on the match itself, administration, security, policing and even a check of player's passports.
Brian recounts that the match itself seemed to be over all too quickly and then it was back on the plane for the homeward journey on the Saturday. All in all, a thoroughly memorable and enjoyable experience that he hopes he will get the opportunity to repeat in the not too distant future. Well done Brian.
After the excitement of Georgia, it was Almondvale Staduim, home of SPL football club Livingston and the SPL league match between Livingston and Dunfermline. Another memorable experience for Brian - this match was always going to be a hard fought tussle given both team's current league positions and the high standard of Scotland's premier football league. Needless to say Brian came through with flying colours. Consequently, Brian cannot wait for his next SPL appointment.
Where is it this week Brian? Ayr United v Stirling Albion - the highs and highs of a top flight referee!
Brian started his refereeing career in 1993 officiating the the Lanarkshire YMCA and Lanarkshire Amateur football leagues. In 1995 he was appointed to referee Junior matches and followed that with his appointment to the senior list of referees in 1997. Brian is now in his 3rd season as a Class 1 referee having been appointed to the top grade in 2002.
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