1. Mark R Halsey was born on 8 July 1961 and is an English retired professional football referee who was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, later based in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
17 Facts About Mark Halsey
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Mark Halsey's first Premier League appointment was a fixture between Wimbledon and Coventry City in August 1999 and over the course of his professional career he refereed a number of notable matches, including the FA Community Shield in 2007 and the 2008 final of the Football League Cup.
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In 2009 Mark Halsey underwent chemotherapy to treat a cancerous tumour in his throat.
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Mark Halsey returned to refereeing in the top-flight in 2010.
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Mark Halsey spent 12 years playing non-League football as a goalkeeper with teams such as Cambridge City and Hertford Town before he started refereeing in 1989.
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Mark Halsey was a National List referee for the Football League from the mid-1990s until 1999.
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In 2000, Mark Halsey was added to the FIFA list of referees, officiating in the Toulon Tournament of that year.
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In 2008 Mark Halsey was appointed to referee the League Cup final between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
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The news came months after Mark Halsey's wife was diagnosed with leukaemia; she will require drugs courses for the rest of her life to treat the disease.
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Mark Halsey relinquished his refereeing duties during his treatment, which included fortnightly chemotherapy and courses of radiation.
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Mark Halsey was due to referee a League Two match between Accrington Stanley and Barnet on 30 March 2010, however it was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.
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Mark Halsey returned to oversee another League Two fixture, between Rotherham United and Port Vale, a few days later.
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On 9 August 2010, following his officiating of a friendly at Everton, it was confirmed that Mark Halsey was to return to the Premier League starting with the opening-day fixture, five days later, between Wigan Athletic and Blackpool.
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In September 2012, Mark Halsey made a formal complaint to the police after two abusive messages were posted to him on Twitter that referred to his treatment for cancer.
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Mark Halsey subsequently joined the pundit crew on BT Sport's television coverage to provide analysis of refereeing decisions during Premier League matches and now writes a regular column for caughtoffside.
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Mark Halsey is a QPR supporter and as such did not officiate QPR matches.
17.
Mark Halsey stated on the Under The Cosh podcast that he had in fact officiated two QPR games, before the rules were changed.