George Courtney MBE was born on 4 June 1941 and is an English former football referee based in Spennymoor, County Durham.
18 Facts About George Courtney
1.
2.
George Courtney later carried out both linesman and refereeing duties for the Northern League before becoming a Football League linesman in 1971.
3.
George Courtney had achieved this feat in only three seasons which was, until the case of Martin Atkinson in 2006, the quickest in modern times.
4.
George Courtney was a head teacher before his referee career took off.
5.
The Southwark coroner said that Matthew George Courtney had been suicidal.
6.
Pat Partridge's retirement in 1981 followed by the unexpected early departure of another World Cup referee, Clive White, the following year, led to George Courtney becoming the dominant refereeing figure of the 1980s.
7.
George Courtney took charge of the 1983 League Cup Final, thus completing the hat trick of major Wembley matches.
Related searches
Martin Atkinson 8.
George Courtney went on to referee numerous FA Cup semi-finals as well as many top division games.
9.
George Courtney was due to retire in 1989 but in common with a number of other senior and respected officials at that time was granted an extension.
10.
George Courtney went on to serve three extra years on the list.
11.
George Courtney was forced to take the players off the field for 20 minutes late in the second half after Marco Gabbiadini's goal defeated Newcastle, leading to hundreds of Newcastle United supporters running onto the pitch.
12.
George Courtney was a frequent figure in UEFA competitions and handled finals such as the 1989 Cup Winners Cup Final.
13.
George Courtney was England's representative at the 1984 European Championships he refereed the Semi Final between Denmark and Spain, followed by the FIFA World Cups of 1986 and 1990.
14.
George Courtney retired from the FIFA list at the end of 1991 at the age of fifty.
15.
George Courtney was one of the last referees to have that privilege, as they reduced the maximum age for their officials to forty five at that point.
16.
George Courtney served out the rest of that season in England.
17.
George Courtney took charge of an unprecedented second League Cup Final in 1992.
18.
George Courtney was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 New Year Honours for services to association football.