Junior football: Premier day as Swarbrick referees
TOP Premier League referee Neil Swarbrick will grace Darwen’s WEC Anchor Ground on Sunday when he takes charge of a boys cup final.
The Preston-based official, who was a late starter to life in the middle having not taken up the whistle until he was 29, will take charge of the East Lancashire Junior Football Alliance Under 15 Trophy final between Darwen Rangers and Blackburn Eagles White.
Swarbrick, who is 48, offered to referee the game after the league chiefs approached the Lancashire Football Association.
Swarbrick is not the first top referee to take to the middle in a junior game.
World Cup whistler Howard Webb refereed a junior cup final in his native Sheffield last month.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here