Frank Marshall (referee)

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Frank Marshall

| image = Reverend marshall.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Rev. Frank Marshall (left) portrayed in a satirical cartoon

| birth_name = Francis Marshall

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1845|9|19|df=y}}

| birth_place = West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|1906|4|21|1845|9|19|df=y}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001055/19060423/050/0003 |title=Death of the Rev. Frank Marshall |newspaper=The Sportsman |date=23 April 1906 |page=3 |issue=11,444 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}

| death_place = Mileham, Norfolk, England

| death_cause =

| resting_place =

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality = Great Britain

| other_names =

| known_for = Defending the amateur status of Rugby Union in the British Isles

| education =

| employer =

| occupation = Church of England Minister, Rugby Union referee & Headmaster

| title = Reverend

| networth =

| term =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| party =

| boards =

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| parents =

| relatives =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Francis Marshall known as Frank Marshall (19 September 1845 – 21 April 1906) was a British schoolmaster, cleric and rugby administrator.{{cite ODNB|id=56357|first=Tony|last=Collins|title=Marshall, Francis}} A fierce advocate of amateurism in the early years of rugby football, his hardline position on payments to players contributed to the schism in the game in 1895 and the birth of the breakaway Rugby League.

Marshall, who opposed the introduction of so-called "broken-time payments", made by clubs in northern England to compensate working men for wages lost while playing matches, has been described as the "witch-finder general, rooting out incipient professionalism".{{cite web|last1=Hadfield|first1=Dave|title=Lessons that have not been learnt as history repeats itself|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/lessons-that-have-not-been-learnt-as-history-repeats-itself-1305366.html|work=The Independent|date=16 April 1996 |access-date=17 November 2014}}

The debate about Marshall continues into the 21st century. In 2021 the Old Almondburians Society sought permission to erect a blue plaque to Marshall on the old schoolhouse. The planning application was rejected by Kirklees Council for whom an officer said "Whether his actions were driven by prejudice towards working class people or by his adherence to the purity of amateurism in Rugby Union is debatable, but his words and actions would be out of place in contemporary society without contextual explanation."{{cite news |last1=Gildea |first1=Samantha |title=No plaque for Huddersfield rugby chief who led 'witch hunt' into players |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/no-blue-plaque-controversial-huddersfield-21797516 |access-date=11 October 2021 |work=Yorkshire Live |date=8 October 2021}}