AUCKLAND – New Zealand referee Peter O’Leary got more than he bargained for on a fact finding trip to Saturday’s English Premier League tie between Aston Villa and Sunderland, drafted in to officiate the second half.
At the match – won 2-1 by Villa – as a guest of English referee Steve Bennett, O’Leary had planned to soak up the action and watch the performance of the officials, but with assistant referee Alan Williams injured and fourth official Bennett needed to replace him at halftime, O’Leary was summoned from the stands to assume Bennett’s role on the touchline.
“I was just thinking it was time to go to the directors’ lounge and have something to eat when I heard my name called out over the public address system,” O’Leary said.
“I walked into the dressing room to be greeted by smiles and sighs of relief and was told get ready since I was going on as the fourth official. So I swapped my suit for a track suit and a pair of boots and we were off!”
The trip to Villa Park in Birmingham is just the first stop for O’Leary on a two-week research tour of England in which he takes in a series of meetings with top English officials and three further Premier League matches.
However, odds are the unexpected chance to become the first New Zealander to officiate in the top flight of English football would remain the highlight.
“As they say with football all things are possible.”
O’Leary, commonly regarded as New Zealand’s best official, is no stranger to big matches.
With numerous A-League and NZFC matches under his belt, O’Leary’s refereeing career has already taken him to Japan for the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup and to Canada for last year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Next on the wish list for O’Leary is appointment to the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. Along with fellow kiwi Mike Hester, he is part of FIFA development group of officials for the event and had been undergoing a testing and instruction programme at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters before arriving in England.
Story and photograph courtesy New Zealand Football (NZF) Media
Photograph by Shane Wenzlick
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