Anthony Buttimer is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

-level soccer referee from Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

. An experienced League of Ireland

League of Ireland

The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 official, he took charge of the 2008 FAI Cup Final

2008 FAI Cup Final

The 2008 FAI Cup Final was a football match held at the RDS, Dublin on 23 November 2008 and was the final match of the 2008 FAI Cup competition. The match was the 85th FAI Cup Final, and the second to be held at the RDS since Lansdowne Road shut for redevelopment...

 in the RDS

Royal Dublin Society

The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...

, Dublin. Buttimer earned his nickname after a number of colourful incidents preceding and during FAI eircom League matches involving various team kits.

Career

Buttimer regularly referees matches in the League of Ireland where he has been accused of being "the main attraction of the night" by Sligo Rovers manager Paul Cook

Paul Cook (footballer)

Paul Anthony Cook is an English former footballer, currently manager of Sligo Rovers in Ireland. He had a lengthy career, playing for a number of clubs in the Football League as a left sided or central midfielder before retiring from the game in 2006.-Playing career:Cook began his career at his...

. In the past he has been dispatched to referee local derbies including the Connacht Derby contested between Sligo Rovers and Galway United in August 2007.

Colour difficulty incidents

Buttimer is best known for having difficulties determining the colours of team kits and managerial suits. At Oriel Park

Oriel Park

Oriel Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Dundalk F.C. Its current capacity is about 4,500 with 3,000 seats. The ground was opened in 1919.-History:...

 on 23 September 2007, he almost postponed Dundalk

Dundalk F.C.

Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...

's league game against Shelbourne

Shelbourne F.C.

Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....

 after taking issue with the colour of the goalkeeper's jerseys. Buttimer was said to be "unsatisfied" with four colours provided by Dundalk - blue, black, yellow and grey all causing some unspecified problem or other. A Shelbourne director left the ground to search for an alternative kit in the local Lifestyle Sports

Lifestyle Sports

Lifestyle Sports is a chain of sports shops in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic.- History :Lifestyle Sports was established in 1979 in the Republic of Ireland by Quinnsworth, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods...

, as managers John Gill

John Gill (football manager)

John Gill is an Irish football manager whose last job was in charge of Dundalk FC. He is currently assistant manager of St. Pats....

 and Dermot Keely

Dermot Keely

Dermot Keely, is the former manager of Irish football team Shelbourne.-Family:Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne, his brother Joe played on the same Home Farm FAI Cup winning side of 1775 as Dermot Keely himself...

 told the referee they were on the verge of "going for a pint

Pint

The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century...

". Buttimer suggested both goalkeepers wear bibs but was hastily halted, before it was agreed that Dundalk goalkeeper Chris Bennion would line out out in a t-shirt with a white strip of tape on the back whilst Shelbourne goalkeeper James Hussey

James Hussey

James Hussey is an Irish footballer currently without a club.James is a goalkeeper and was capped a number of times for Ireland at Under 14 and Under 15 level...

 would wear a training top for the match. In the ensuing media fuss, fellow referee Damien Hancock

Damien Hancock

Damien Hancock is a Irish soccer referee from Dublin. He has been on the National League panel since 1995, and regularly referees matches at the top level of the League of Ireland....

 was mistaken for Buttimer by the Irish Independent

Irish Independent

The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

. Anthony is not a professional referee,in his day job he is a medical doctor.

On 7 March 2008, in the opening game of that season, he declared that the kit worn by Sligo Rovers was too similar to the kit worn by St Patrick's Athletic

St Patrick's Athletic F.C.

St Patrick's Athletic Football Club is a football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in 1929, they are based in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore and play their home matches at Richmond Park. They have won the League of Ireland title 7 times and...

, insinuating that it clashed with the white sleeve on the St Pat's jersey. After a displeased stand-off, local junior club Lissadell United were requested to provide two sets of jerseys but these were also thought unsuitable by Buttimer. He forced them to wear the dark blue away kit of St Pat's emblazoned with the Paddy Power

Paddy Power

Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting...

 logo for the match, in which Sligo Rovers took the lead only to lose 3-1 after a delay of 35 minutes. Sligo's kit-suppliers Jako

Jako

Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen , Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel and his brother in 1989 in Stachenhausen...

 were reported to be considering legal action against the FAI

Football Association of Ireland

The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...

 over the incident.

At United Park on 16 May 2008, he chastised the St Pat's manager John McDonnell

John McDonnell (footballer)

John McDonnell is an Irish football former manager and player and current assistant manager of the Faroe Islands national football team....

 for his navy blue top which, in the referee's opinion was too similar to the blue of his own team's jerseys. Buttimer demanded that he change it before the game could get underway.

UEFA Cup match

On 31 August 2008, Buttimer took charge of the 2008-09 UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup 2008–09

The UEFA Cup 2008–09 was the 38th edition of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup format; starting in 2009, the event is known as the...

 qualifier first round second leg match between KS Vllaznia Shkodër

KS Vllaznia Shkodër

Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...

 and FC Koper

FC Koper

FC Koper is a Slovenian football club, playing in the town of Koper. The club is one of only three football clubs in the country, the others being Maribor and former Olimpija, that won all three domestic competitions . The team plays its matches on Bonifika stadium that was built in 2010 and has a...

 at the Loro-Boriçi Stadium

Loro-Boriçi Stadium

Loro Boriçi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...

 in Shkodër

Shkodër

Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. The match finished 0 – 0, with the referee issuing three yellow cards.

2008 FAI Cup Final

On 23 November 2008, Buttimer took charge of the 2008 FAI Cup Final, in which Bohemians

Bohemian F.C.

Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...

 triumphed over Derry City

Derry City F.C.

Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...

, the second featuring the new trophy after the previous 86-year-old trophy's retirement in 2006, the second Final to be played at the RDS during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

, the first ever to feature a penalty shoot-out and a match in which Buttimer denied one and gave another contentious penalty decision. He denied Sam Morrow

Sam Morrow

Samuel Morrow , aka Sam Morrow or Sammy Morrow, is a professional football player currently playing for Scottish First Division side Ross County. Morrow, who was raised in Limavady, started as a youth at Institute FC before beginning his career at Ipswich Town were he made his debut as an 18 year...

an early penalty before awarding a spot-kick after the ball struck Morrow's hand in the second half.