David B. Allison is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 referee, who operated in the English Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 and Premier League. During his time on the List he was based in Lancaster

Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

 and was by profession a teacher.

Career

He became a Football League linesman in 1977 and three years later achieved promotion to the referees' list at the age of thirty-one. He made steady progress in his early years but by the late 1980s was becoming a regular top division referee, often handling Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 derby games including those involving the big Manchester and Liverpool clubs.

He became one of the first Premier League referees in 1992,^† shortly after taking charge of his most senior cup appointment - a League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 semi-final first leg between Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 and Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. His first match in that competition was the 4-1 home win by Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 against Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 at Ayresome Park

Ayresome Park

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 on August 28.

Over the next two years he handled a large number of matches in the new League. However in 1994 the Premier League moved to a rather smaller list of officials who would handle its matches and he was not selected.

He reverted back to exclusive duty in the Football League, where his appointments included the 1996 Division One play-off final between Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 and Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

, which he rated his most memorable match. He retired at the end of the following season (1996-97

1996-97 in English football

The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...

). In his seventeen years as a referee he controlled 463 matches in the Football and Premier Leagues.

He later became a Football League regional co-ordinator and referees' coach, before being appointed National Group Manager in charge of the 57 top referees for Professional Game Match Officials Limited on August 10, 2007.

Personal life

David has two daughters, pennelope anne and Lucy. He currently lives with his partner Sheila and has two step gran children Heather and Emma.
David was a much respected teacher of languages but retired a few years ago, he is a family man.

Print

• Football League Handbooks, 1977–1979
• Rothmans Football League Yearbooks, 1980–1997
• ^†Bateson, Bill; Albert Sewell (1992). News of the World Football Annual 1992/93. Harper Collins, p45. ISBN 0-85543-188-1

External links

• David Allison Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com