Martin Atkinson facts for kids
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Atkinson in 2014
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| Full name | Martin Atkinson | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 31 March 1971 Drighlington, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
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| Other occupation | Teacher | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1998–2000 |  Football League |
Assistant referee | |
| 2000–2003 | Premier League |
Assistant referee | |
| 2002–2003 | Football Conference |
Referee | |
| 2003–2005 | Football League |
Referee | |
| 2005–2022 | Premier League |
Referee | |
| 2022–present | Premier League |
Referee coach | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2006–2018 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Martin Atkinson, born on March 31, 1971, is a former professional football referee from England. He mostly refereed games in the Premier League, which is England's top football league. He is also a member of the West Riding County Football Association.
Martin started his career as an official in 1995, working as an assistant referee in the English Football League. In 2004, he became a "Select Group Referee." This meant he was chosen to referee many important matches. These included the FA Community Shield and the finals of the FA Trophy, Football League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Europa League. Martin stopped refereeing on the field at the end of the 2021–22 season. Since then, he has been coaching other top referees for the Premier League.
Contents
Martin Atkinson's Refereeing Journey
Martin Atkinson began his refereeing journey when he was quite young, at just 16 years old. He started because his local team needed someone to oversee their matches. By 1998, he had moved up to become an assistant referee in the English Football League.
In 2000, he was promoted again to the Select Group of assistant referees. By December 2002, he was refereeing matches in the Football Conference. He also refereed the final of the 2003 FA County Youth Cup.
Becoming a National Referee
At the start of the 2003–04 season, Martin joined the national list of referees. This was a big step in his career. He had a special record: he did not send off any player from August 2004 to October 2005. This shows he was good at keeping players on the field.
Martin made his first appearance as a referee in the Premier League on September 18, 2004. This match was between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Over three seasons, from 2003 to 2006, he gave out only eight red cards in 102 matches. This is a very low average.
In 2006, Martin Atkinson was added to the list of FIFA referees. This meant he could referee international matches. The 2009–10 season was his busiest, as he refereed 48 matches in English football.
Key Matches and Retirement
In September 2010, Martin was briefly moved to the role of fourth official. This happened after a disagreement about time-keeping with Everton manager David Moyes. Everton had scored two goals in extra time to tie the game 3–3 against Manchester United. However, Martin blew the final whistle while Everton was still attacking.
On May 22, 2022, Martin Atkinson refereed his final Premier League match. This game was between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park. Interestingly, this was the same stadium where he made his Premier League debut 17 years earlier. When he retired, he had refereed 462 games in the Premier League. This is the second-highest number of games for a referee in the competition. Only Mike Dean has refereed more, with 560 games.
2006 FA Community Shield
Martin Atkinson refereed the 2006 FA Community Shield match. This game took place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Liverpool won against Chelsea with a score of 2–1. During the match, Martin gave out four yellow cards.
| 13 August 2006 |
Chelsea | 1–2 | Liverpool | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 56,275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shevchenko  44'Ballack  7'Lampard 15'Diarra 68' |
(Report) | Riise 9' Crouch 80'Alonso 61' |
2008 FA Trophy Final
Martin was chosen to referee the 2008 FA Trophy Final. This important match was played at Wembley Stadium. The teams playing were Ebbsfleet United and Torquay United.
| 10 May 2008 14:30 |
Ebbsfleet United | 1–0 | Torquay United | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 40,186 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McPhee 45' Smith McCarthy Moore |
(Report) | Rice |
2011 FA Cup Final
Martin Atkinson was appointed to referee the 2011 FA Cup final. In this match, Manchester City beat Stoke City 1–0. Martin gave two yellow cards to two Stoke players during the game.
| 14 May 2011 15:00 |
Manchester City | 1–0 | Stoke City | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 88,643 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Touré 74' |
Report | Wilkinson 76' Huth 40' |
2014 Football League Cup Final
Martin refereed the 2014 Football League Cup final. This match was between Manchester City and Sunderland. Manchester City won the game 3–1. Martin cautioned two players late in the second half.
| 2 March 2014 14:00 |
Manchester City | 3–1 | Sunderland | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 84,697 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touré 55' Nasri 56'Navas 90'Negredo 90' |
Report | Borini 10' Alonso 90' |
International Matches and Europe
On October 13, 2007, Martin Atkinson refereed a qualifying match for Euro 2008. This game was between Moldova and Turkey in Chişinău, Moldova. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, and he showed two yellow cards.
The 2008–09 season was the first time Martin took charge of UEFA Champions League games. He refereed four matches that season. These included games like FC Zürich against Real Madrid. In 2010, Martin was the fourth official for the Champions League final in Madrid. He gave his first Champions League red card on April 5, 2011. This was to Cristian Chivu of Inter Milan.
Martin officiated several matches during 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification. This included a game between Germany and Finland in Hamburg. He also officiated Portugal's 1–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He was an additional assistant referee at UEFA Euro 2012. He worked as part of a team with referee Howard Webb.
On October 14, 2014, Martin had to stop a Euro 2016 qualifying match in Belgrade. This was between Serbia and Albania. Violence broke out on the pitch and in the crowd after a drone flew over the field.
On May 27, 2015, Martin Atkinson was in charge of the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final. This final was between Sevilla and Dnipro. Sevilla won 3-2 and kept their title.
Martin refereed three games at Euro 2016. These included Germany versus Ukraine and Hungary versus Portugal in the group stage. He also refereed a round of 16 game between Wales and Northern Ireland.
No English officials were chosen for the 2018 World Cup. This was the first time since 1938. Martin refereed his last international match in March 2018. It was a friendly game between Argentina and Italy at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Personal Life
Martin Atkinson was born in Drighlington, West Riding of Yorkshire. He now lives near Leeds.
Statistics
Martin Atkinson refereed many games throughout his career. Here is a summary of his statistics from 2002–03 until his retirement:
- He refereed a total of 737 games.
- He showed 2345 yellow cards.
- He sent off 100 players with red cards.
See also
In Spanish: Martin Atkinson para niños
