Craig Pawson
{{Short description|English football referee (born 1979)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football official
| fullname = Craig Pawson
| image = Austria vs. Russia 20141115 (094).jpg
| caption = Pawson in 2014
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|03|02|df=y}}{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competitions/uefaeuropaleague/2018/e/e_2022140_pk.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215165408/http://www.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competitions/uefaeuropaleague/2018/e/e_2022140_pk.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 December 2017|title=UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2017/18 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS|website=UEFA}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| otheroccupation =
| years1 = ?
| league1 = Football League
| role1 = Assistant referee
| years2 = 2008–2013
| league2 = Football League
| role2 = Referee
| years3 = 2013–
| league3 = Premier League
| role3 = Referee
| internationalyears1 = 2015–2024
| confederation1 = FIFA listed
| internationalrole1 = Referee
}}
Craig Pawson (born 2 March 1979) is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League, having been promoted to the panel of Select Group Referees in 2013, as well as in the Football League.{{cite web |author=Craig Pawson |url=https://www.premierleague.com/referees/16967/Craig-Pawson/overview |title=Referee Profile |publisher=Premierleague.com |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512205507/https://www.premierleague.com/referees/16967/Craig-Pawson/overview |url-status=dead }}
He is based in South Yorkshire and is associated with the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/news/2016/jul/06/craig-pawson-to-referee-fa-community-shield-070716|title=Craig Pawson to take charge of the FA Community Shield|last=Association|first=The Football|website=www.thefa.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-10}}
Career
Pawson has been a referee since 1993 and regularly officiated in the Football League in the 2012–13 season. He appeared 12 times in the Championship as well as making a Wembley appearance, taking charge of the League 2 play-off final between Crewe Alexandra and Cheltenham Town, which saw the former promoted.
His first Premier League appointment came in March 2013 between Swansea City and Newcastle United at the Liberty Stadium with the home side winning 1–0.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21556865 |title=BBC Sport – Swansea 1–0 Newcastle |work=BBC Sport |access-date=2014-04-16}}
Pawson was appointed as fourth official for the FA Cup semi-final in April 2014 between Wigan Athletic and Arsenal at Wembley.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/thefacup/more/match-officials |title=The website for the English football association, The FA Cup and The England football team – The FA Cup |publisher=The FA |access-date=2014-04-16}}
In 2015 Pawson was put on the FIFA International Referees List{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=eng/footballofficials/referees/peoplekind=ref.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610182800/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=eng/footballofficials/referees/peoplekind=ref.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2007|title=Education & Technical - Referees by Association |last=FIFA.com|website=FIFA.com}} meaning that he can officiate in international fixtures, as well as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League fixtures as either referee or an additional assistant referee. Pawson became the seventh referee from England on the list.
He was the fourth official for the 2015 Football League Cup Final at Wembley, in which Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0.{{cite news|title=Anthony Taylor to referee Capital One Cup Final |url=http://www.capitalonecup.co.uk/news/article/anthony-taylor-to-referee-capital-one-cup-final-2266463.aspx |website=capitalonecup.co.uk |publisher=The Football League |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221012201/http://www.capitalonecup.co.uk/news/article/anthony-taylor-to-referee-capital-one-cup-final-2266463.aspx |archive-date=21 February 2015 }}
Pawson was the fourth official for the 2015 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa on 30 May.{{cite news|url=http://www.thefa.com/news/the-fa-cup/2015/apr/jon-moss-cup-final-interview-210415|title=Jon Moss will referee the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley|publisher=The FA|date=21 April 2015|access-date=21 April 2015|first=James|last=Callow}}
In May 2019 Pawson officiated the Championship playoff semifinal between Derby County and Leeds United. This was considered an especially high-profile game after the Spygate affair earlier in the season for which Leeds were fined £200,000 and severely reprimanded by the EFL.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/18/leeds-united-fined-200000-derby-spying|title=Leeds United fined £200,000 over Derby County spying affair|agency=Press Association|date=2019-02-18|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-05-14|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} The game was controversial with Pawson awarding Derby a penalty in the second half, before reversing his decision on the advice of his assistant. Leeds went on to win the game 0–1.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/11/derby-leeds-championship-play-off-match-report|title=Kemar Roofe razes Derby County to leave Leeds spying play-off final|last=Park|first=Paul Doyle at Pride|date=2019-05-11|work=The Observer|access-date=2019-05-14|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}
Pawson stepped down as a FIFA official at the end of December 2024.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{EU-Football.info referee}}
- {{WorldFootball.net referee}}
{{Premier League referees}}
{{UEFA First Category Referees}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawson, Craig}}
Category:English football referees
Category:Sportspeople from Sheffield