Ray Olivier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ray Olivier | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond J Olivier | |
| Date of birth | September 21, 1958 | |
| Place of birth | Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England | |
| Domestic | ||
| Years | League | Role |
| 1993-1996 1996-1998 1998-2007 |
Football League Premier League Football League |
Assistant referee Assistant referee Referee |
| International | ||
| - | - | - |
Raymond J. Olivier (born September 21, 1958) is an English former football referee, who operated in the Football League in that capacity, and in the Premier League as an assistant referee. He comes from Sutton Coldfield[1] in the West Midlands.
[edit] Career
He began refereeing in 1980 in leagues local to his home, becoming an assistant referee in the Football League in 1993. Three years later he progressed to the Premier League list of assistants, finally being elevated to Football League referee in 1998.[2]
His first match in charge after his promotion was the Football League Third Division (now League Two) encounter between Exeter City and Scarborough at St James Park Exeter on August 15, 1998, which finished 1-0 to the home side courtesy of a goal by Jon Gittens.[3] In 2001, he refereed an FA Trophy semi-final.[2]
Although never to officiate as a referee in the Premier League, on September 1, 2001 Olivier was appointed as a Regional Refereeing Manager for the Football Association,[4] covering the West Midlands area.[5] He continued to referee at Football League level whilst holding this position.
In January 2006, he and Peter Walton, the Premiership referee, held a seminar on refereeing development in Guayaquil, Ecuador, for the country's senior referees, following a cooperative agreement which had been signed in 2003 by Nicolás Léoz (president of CONMEBOL), and the chairman of the FA, Geoff Thompson.[6]
On October 28, 2006, after 33 minutes of a Notts County versus Bury Football League Two match,[7] he was taken ill with a mild stroke, and had to be replaced by the fourth official, Jock Waugh.[8] He was unable to referee again until Boxing Day of that year.[9]
In January 2007, Olivier and Walton returned to the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil in order to carry out an "Advanced Course for Referees' Instructors", on behalf of the Football Association and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation).[10]
Ray Olivier retired from refereeing in his 49th year, handling his final match on April 24, 2007 - the 1-0 win by Bristol Rovers at Macclesfield Town in a League Two fixture.[11]
He did not rest, and on May 5, 2007 assisted the FA's Head of National Referee Development, Ian Blanchard in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, helping to run a "Referee Recruiter Course" for the Asian Football Confederation.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Confirmation of place of residence: BBC.co.uk match report, 2003.
- ^ a b Profile and birthdate confirmation: the Football League Official website.
- ^ First ever Football League match, Exeter v. Scarborough, 1998: soccerbase.com website.
- ^ Admin role for Olivier, commencing September 1, 2001: list of contacts at the RateTheRef.co.uk website.
- ^ Regional Refereeing Manager, West Midlands: TheFA.com Official website.
- ^ Seminar for referees in Ecuador, with Peter Walton, January 2006: TheFA.com Official website.
- ^ Notts County v. Bury, taken ill in 2006: soccerbase.com website.
- ^ "Ref on road to recovery": account of his mild stroke at the ThisIsLancashire.co.uk website.
- ^ Return to fitness for Boxing Day 2006 match: soccerbase.com website.
- ^ Return to Ecuador with Walton in 2007 for an "Advanced Course for Referees' Instructors": CONMEBOL website.
- ^ Last ever top class match before retirement in 2007: soccerbase.com website.
- ^ Course in Kuala Lumpur, with Ian Blanchard in May 2007, for the Asian Football Confederation: article at the FootballReferee.org website.
