William Ling (referee)
Encyclopedia
William Ling was an English
football
referee from Stapleford
, Cambridgeshire
, who refereed the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final
.
football tournament along with George Reader
, Stanley Boardman and A. C. Williams from Brighton
. Ling refereed both the first round match involving Sweden
, the quarter-final involving Italy
and was then selected for the final between Sweden and Yugoslavia
. The final itself turned on two penalty decisions early in the second half (both which were denied to the Yugoslavians) and which affected their temperament. Bernard Joy
, in the 1960 publication "Association Football" (p. 470), wrote: "The setbacks rattled the Yugoslavs, their behaviour got out of hand for a spell and they did not recover their rhythm. What made matters worse was when Gunnar Gren
converted a penalty midway through the second half. It is true that Gunnar Nordahl
was bowled over, but the offence looked no worse than those committed by the Swedish centre half Bertil Nordahl
."
) Ling had become a Football League referee, and within 3 years had been appointed to control an FA Cup Final
.
Ling refereed the FA Cup Final in 1951, in which Newcastle United beat Blackpool
with two Jackie Milburn
goals. On the day of the Final
, Ling spotted a policeman as he arrived at Wembley Stadium. He recognised him as a player he had sent off previously during a Sunday league fixture and as he passed him, said: "Now what do you think?" The officer replied: "I still think you are no f*****g good!"
was only his second international tournament not having been selected for the 1950 FIFA World Cup
. He was one of a group of four referees appointed from the United Kingdom
for the 1954 tournament. The others were Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths from Wales
, Arthur Ellis
from Yorkshire
and Charles Edward Faultless (Scotland
). In the course of the tournament, Ling had already refereed the Group match between Hungary
and Germany
(in which the Hungarians had won 8-3 against the German team of mainly reserve players) and had assisted Arthur Ellis
during the Battle of Berne
quarter-final. In the final he was assisted by Griffiths and the Italian
Vincenzo Orlandini
.
and Germany
, became slightly controversial because he accepted Griffith's offside
flag in the final minutes to deny Ferenc Puskás
a 3-3 equalizer which would have sent the game into extra-time.
Observers felt that Puskás was not offside when the ball was passed to him. German radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann had called Puskás offside well before he kicked.
Willy Meisl
observed, later, that it appeared that goal keeper Gyula Grosics
had struck Ling following the final whistle. Nothing came of this incident and the mood amongst the Hungarians had settled when the trophy was handed to the Germans.
film Miracle of Bern in which the story of the match is told. Joachim Floryszak, a non-League German
football referee and civil servant, starred as Ling after contacting the director Sönke Wortmann
begging to be given a place in the film.
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...
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 from Stapleford
Stapleford, Cambridgeshire
Stapleford is a village located approximately four miles to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England on the right hand bank of the River Granta. Stapleford is first mentioned in 956 when it was given the Latinised name of Stapelforda, formerly Stapleton. Unlike...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, who refereed the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final
1954 FIFA World Cup Final
- External links :* - fifa.com, FIFA, 2002.*...
.
1948 Olympic Games
Ling rose quickly through the ranks as a referee. He was initially on the supplementary list as a Football League match official but even so was selected to participate in the 1948 Olympic Games1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
football tournament along with George Reader
George Reader
George Reader was the fourth man to referee a FIFA World Cup Final, the first Englishman to do so, and the oldest match official at any World Cup in history...
, Stanley Boardman and A. C. Williams from Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Ling refereed both the first round match involving Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
, the quarter-final involving 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 was then selected for the final between Sweden and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
. The final itself turned on two penalty decisions early in the second half (both which were denied to the Yugoslavians) and which affected their temperament. Bernard Joy
Bernard Joy
Bernard Joy was an English footballer and journalist. He is notable for being the last amateur player to play for the England national football team.-Biography:...
, in the 1960 publication "Association Football" (p. 470), wrote: "The setbacks rattled the Yugoslavs, their behaviour got out of hand for a spell and they did not recover their rhythm. What made matters worse was when Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren
Gunnar Gren was a Swedish football player and coach. He is best known for playing for IFK Gothenburg and AC Milan. He was part of the famous "Gre-No-Li" trio of forwards at A.C. Milan and the Swedish national team...
converted a penalty midway through the second half. It is true that Gunnar Nordahl
Gunnar Nordahl
Gunnar Nordahl was a Swedish football player, best known for his play in AC Milan 1949-1956.-Sweden:...
was bowled over, but the offence looked no worse than those committed by the Swedish centre half Bertil Nordahl
Bertil Nordahl
Bertil Nordahl was a Swedish footballer and football manager.He played for Degerfors IF and Atalanta B.C....
."
1951 FA Cup Final
By the start of the next season (1948-491948-49 in English football
The 1948–49 season was the 69th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Portsmouth won the First Division title for the first time with a team of no recognised stars and very few international players. They won the league by five points from Manchester United and Derby...
) Ling had become a Football League referee, and within 3 years had been appointed to control an FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
.
Ling refereed the FA Cup Final in 1951, in which Newcastle United beat 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...
with two Jackie Milburn
Jackie Milburn
John Edward Thompson 'Jackie' Milburn, , also known to fans as Wor Jackie and 'the first World Wor' in reference to his global fame, was a football player for Newcastle United and England...
goals. On the day of the Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
, Ling spotted a policeman as he arrived at Wembley Stadium. He recognised him as a player he had sent off previously during a Sunday league fixture and as he passed him, said: "Now what do you think?" The officer replied: "I still think you are no f*****g good!"
1954 World Cup
The 1954 World Cup1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
was only his second international tournament not having been selected for the 1950 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
. He was one of a group of four referees appointed from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the 1954 tournament. The others were Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Arthur Ellis
Arthur Edward Ellis
Arthur Edward Ellis was an English football referee.Ellis was a referee in The Football Association competitions and in FIFA international competitions...
from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Charles Edward Faultless (Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
). In the course of the tournament, Ling had already refereed the Group match between Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
(in which the Hungarians had won 8-3 against the German team of mainly reserve players) and had assisted Arthur Ellis
Arthur Edward Ellis
Arthur Edward Ellis was an English football referee.Ellis was a referee in The Football Association competitions and in FIFA international competitions...
during the Battle of Berne
Battle of Berne
The Battle of Berne is used to refer to a quarter-final match at the 1954 World Cup between Hungary and Brazil, played on June 27, 1954 at the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne, Switzerland....
quarter-final. In the final he was assisted by Griffiths and the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Vincenzo Orlandini
Vincenzo Orlandini
Vincenzo Orlandini was the first Italian to officiate in a FIFA World Cup final match when he ran the line to William Ling in the 1954 World Cup final between Hungary and West Germany....
.
The Final
Ling's part in the final, between HungaryHungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
, became slightly controversial because he accepted Griffith's offside
Offside (football)
Offside is a law in football which states that if a player is in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he may not become actively involved in the play...
flag in the final minutes to deny Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...
a 3-3 equalizer which would have sent the game into extra-time.
Observers felt that Puskás was not offside when the ball was passed to him. German radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann had called Puskás offside well before he kicked.
Willy Meisl
Willy Meisl
Willy Meisl was an Austrian-jewish sports journalist in the 20th century; the brother of the Austrian national football manager, Hugo Meisl....
observed, later, that it appeared that goal keeper Gyula Grosics
Gyula Grosics
Gyula Grosics is a Hungarian former football goalkeeper who played 86 times for the Hungarian national football team and was part of the legendary Golden Team of the 1950s. He was nicknamed the Black Panther ....
had struck Ling following the final whistle. Nothing came of this incident and the mood amongst the Hungarians had settled when the trophy was handed to the Germans.
The Miracle of Bern
The final match itself became the subject of a GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
film Miracle of Bern in which the story of the match is told. Joachim Floryszak, a non-League German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
football referee and civil servant, starred as Ling after contacting the director Sönke Wortmann
Sönke Wortmann
Sönke Wortmann is a German film director and producer.- Biography :Wortmann’s father was a miner. After Wortmann’s A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playing with Westfalia Herne at the third best category and with SP Vgg Erkenschwick...
begging to be given a place in the film.