Lee W. Probert 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...

 professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He was born on the South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...

 border with Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, Avon

Avon (county)

Avon was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England.The county was named after the River Avon, which runs through the area. It was formed from parts of the historic counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset, together with the City of Bristol...

, but now lives in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

.

Career

Probert began refereeing in 1986, in leagues local to Bristol, and later in the Football Conference South. He was promoted to the assistant referees' list of the Football League in 1998, and made the step up to full referee in the League five years later.

He refereed his first FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 match on 17 November 2001, taking charge of a first-round tie between Dagenham & Redbridge

Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.

Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...

 and Southport

Southport F.C.

Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...

, which was settled for the home side by a Mark Stein penalty

Penalty kick

A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

 after 26 minutes.

His first match after elevation to the League list of referees was the League 2

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 encounter at Sixfields

Sixfields Stadium

Sixfields Stadium is a 7,653-capacity all-seater sports stadium in Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in October 1994....

 on 9 August 2003 between Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 and Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

, with Jason Fowler scoring the only goal for the visitors.

On 19 May 2007, Probert refereed a League 1

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 play-off

Football League Play-Offs

The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...

 semi-final second-leg which saw Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 defeat Oldham Athletic 3-1.

On 26 July 2007, a press release from the Professional Game Match Officials Board

Professional Game Match Officials Board

The Professional Game Match Officials Board , and since made a Limited Liability Company , was formed when English association football referees turned professional in 2001, specifically to provide match officials for all games played in the Premier League in England...

, which employs Premier League referees full-time, stated that Probert had been included in the Select Group of 19 referees for the 2007-08 season

2007-08 in English football

The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...

. Prior to this, he had been 'trialled' in the top league during the previous season, being appointed a fixture between Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 and Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 on 13 January 2007 which ended with a 1-1 draw.

Perhaps Probert's fiercest criticism in the Premier League came when he was fourth official for a match between Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 and Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 at Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 on 29 August 2009. Probert and match referee Mike Dean

Mike Dean (referee)

-Coin-throwing incident:On 5 April 2009 in the South Wales derby between Cardiff City and Swansea City, Dean suffered a cut to the forehead resulting from what appeared to be a coin thrown by a Cardiff supporter. He later awarded Cardiff a debatable penalty, which was converted to earn a draw for...

 were censured after Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...

 was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle after a goal which his team had scored was ruled out for offside. League Managers Association

League Managers Association

The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...

 chief executive Richard Bevan said of the error of judgement, "Lee Probert totally failed to manage the situation and created a needless pressure point taking the focus away from the pitch in a big event with only a minute to go."

Probert came under the spotlight after another Manchester United fixture in April 2010, a 0-0 draw at Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. In the final minute, Manchester United striker Chicharito went down in the penalty box under Danny Simpson

Danny Simpson

Daniel Peter "Danny" Simpson is an English footballer who plays as a right back for Premier League club Newcastle United. A product of the Manchester United academy, Simpson has also played on loan for Sunderland, Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers in England and Royal Antwerp in Belgium...

's challenge. Probert adjudged Chicharito to have dived and booked him for simulation, a decision described as "brave" by Newcastle manager Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew

Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....

 but as an "insult" by Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

.

Probert was the referee for the FA Trophy final

2010 FA Trophy Final

The 2010 FA Trophy Final was the 40th final of the Football Association's cup competition for levels 5-8 of the English football league system. The match was contested by Stevenage Borough who won the competition in 2007 and 2009, and Barrow who won the competition in 1990...

 at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 2010 between Barrow

Barrow A.F.C.

Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...

 and Stevenage Borough.

Probert was appointed as fourth official for the 2011 FA Cup Final

2011 FA Cup Final

The 2011 FA Cup Final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The match took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London. The clubs contesting the 2011 final were Premier League clubs Manchester City and Stoke City, with the victors guaranteed...

 at Wembley Stadium on 14 May 2011 between Manchester City and Stoke City.

Career statistics

Season	Games	Total	per game	Total	per game
2001/2002	10	33	3.30	1	0.10
2002/2003	15	45	3.00	2	0.13
2003/2004	28	82	2.93	7	0.25
2004/2005	32	94	2.94	7	0.22
2005/2006	40	127	3.18	8	0.20
2006/2007	38	107	2.82	5	0.13
2007/2008	37	82	2.21	3	0.08
2008/2009	35	94	2.68	4	0.11

External links

• Lee Probert Profile at Refworld.com
• Lee Probert Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com