Bob Matthewson

Who was Bob Matthewson?

Robert "Bob" Matthewson was an English footballer and FIFA referee. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Matthewson had a spell playing for the Byker Youth Club's football team before he was signed by Bolton Wanderers. After six appearances for Bolton in six seasons, including three appearances in the Football League, Matthewson was allowed to leave the club by manager Bill Ridding. He then joined Lincoln City but never played a league game for them and eventually took up refereeing back in Bolton.

Matthewson joined the national list of referees in 1968, beginning a nine-year stint as a top-level referee that included the 1974 FA Charity Shield, in which he sent Leeds United's Billy Bremner and Liverpool's Kevin Keegan off for fighting, and culminated with Manchester United's 2–1 win over Liverpool in the 1977 FA Cup Final. He was promoted to the FIFA list of referees in 1973, but only officiated two full international matches: the first was a UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying Group 8 match between Malta and Greece on 23 February 1975 and the second was a friendly between Wales and West Germany on 6 October 1976. He also refereed the 1974–75 UEFA Cup semi-final first leg between Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach on 8 April 1975.