Paul Anthony Durkin 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 retired in 2004. He comes from the Isle of Portland

Isle of Portland

The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...

 in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. He currently works as a referee assessor for the Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

.

Durkin was England's only referee at the 1998 FIFA World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

 Finals in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, where he refereed one match - the Group B encounter between Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 and Austria

Austria national football team

The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

. In the same year, he refereed the FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Newcastle United, whilst in 2003 he was in charge of the Football 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...

 Final between Liverpool and 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...

.

Durkin also appeared in ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

's Simply the Best

Simply the Best (TV series)

Simply the Best was a game show broadcast on the UK terrestrial network ITV in 2004.Filmed in Jersey as a co-production of Channel Television and Carlton Television, it was hosted by Phil Tufnell and Kirsty Gallacher, and featured the cheerleaders from the American football team the Scottish...

 as the referee.

External links

• Paul Durkin Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com
• 7 questions with Paul Durkin