Neil Swarbrick
 | |||
| Born |
20 December 1965[1] Preston, Lancashire, England | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| ? – ? | Northern Premier League | Referee | |
| ? – ? | Conference | Referee | |
| 2005–2011 | The Football League | Referee | |
| 2011– | Premier League | Referee | |
Neil Swarbrick (born 20 December 1965) is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League having been promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2011.
He is based in Preston, Lancashire, and is a member of the Lancashire County Football Association.
Career
Swarbrick took up refereeing relatively late, at the age of 29. Within six years he was promoted to the National List of assistant referees. He fulfilled this role for four years before being added to the Referees' List.[2]
He refereed in the Football Conference until moving up into the Football League. He has also officiated FA Cup and Football League Cup matches. Swarbrick's first Premier League appointment came in December 2010 when he took charge of a goalless draw between Fulham and Sunderland.[1][3] During his second Premier League appointment in February 2011 Swarbrick issued his first red card in England's top division, to D. J. Campbell of Blackpool as they lost 4-0 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.[4]
It was announced on 20 June 2011 that Swarbrick had been promoted to the Select Group of Referees who officiate all Premier League fixtures. He joined the Select Group for the 2011/12 season alongside fellow newly promoted official Jonathan Moss.
In March 2015 Swarbrick made a high-profile error during a Premier League match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion when he sent off the wrong player in a case of mistaken identity. In the second minute of the game, West Brom's number 25 Craig Dawson committed a professional foul on City's Wilfried Bony, but Swarbrick subsequently dismissed number 23 Gareth McAuley, who had been close to the incident. City went on to win the tie 3–0.[5]
Statistics
| Season | Games | Total  |
per game |
Total  |
per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005/06 | 29 | 57 | 1.97 | 2 | 0.07 |
| 2006/07 | 34 | 96 | 2.82 | 9 | 0.26 |
| 2007/08 | 38 | 76 | 2.00 | 8 | 0.21 |
| 2008/09 | 36 | 82 | 2.28 | 4 | 0.11 |
| 2009/10 | 35 | 104 | 2.97 | 8 | 0.23 |
| 2010/11 | 40 | 108 | 2.70 | 8 | 0.20 |
| 2011/12 | 30 | 107 | 3.57 | 7 | 0.23 |
| 2012/13 | 31 | 111 | 3.58 | 1 | 0.03 |
References
- 1 2 "Neil Swarbrick - Football Referee". Football-lineups.com. 1965-12-20. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
- ↑ http://refworld.com/referee/174/1/neil-swarbrick
- ↑ http://www.safc.com/news/20101210/swarbrick-to-take-charge_2256213_2241034
- ↑ BBC Sport - Football - Wolves 4-0 Blackpool
- ↑ "Referee Neil Swarbrick sorry for sending off wrong player at Manchester City". Sky Sports. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.