George Reader (22 November 1896 – 13 July 1978) was the fourth man to
referee a
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
Final, the first
Englishman
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
(one of only 10 match officials from the United Kingdom) to do so, and the oldest match official at any World Cup in history. He hailed from
Nuneaton,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
.
Early career
By profession he was a schoolmaster, going to St Luke's teacher training college (the same one that
Ken Aston
Kenneth George Aston, MBE (1 September 1915 – 23 October 2001) was an English teacher, soldier, and football referee, who was responsible for many important developments in football refereeing - including the yellow and red penalty card sy ...
was to attend) just after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in
Exeter. St. Luke's is now part of
Exeter University
, mottoeng = "We Follow the Light"
, established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter)
, type = Public
, ...
.
Finding work in Exeter as a young teacher, Reader first played as an
amateur for
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
in the
Southern Football League, in the
1919–20 season. It was with that club that he played in a friendly against
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 3 January 1920, a week before the third round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
.
Reader scored and impressed the visiting side so much that they signed him for a fee of £50, as a handy replacement
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
to
Bill Rawlings
William Ernest Rawlings (3 January 1896 – 25 September 1972) was an English footballer. A centre-forward, he scored more than 196 goals in 367 league games in a 15-year career.
He began his career with Southampton in 1918, who were elevated f ...
, who was a mainstay of the Saints side in the 1920s.
Unfortunately, given Rawling's abilities (he scored on average a goal every two games), Reader was unable to break into the side and played only three times in the old
Third Division (South) before moving to
Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
for a year, and then playing on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
at
Cowes until 1930, commuting on the ferry from his job as an assistant schoolmaster in Southampton.
Refereeing
He first took up refereeing in 1930, appearing on
Southampton Common
Southampton Common is a large open space to the north of the city centre of Southampton, England. It is bounded by the districts of Shirley, Bassett, Highfield and Portswood. The area supports a large variety of wildlife, including one of th ...
,
and progressed through the promotional system with an alacrity that underlined his ability and experience. Within six seasons he was running the line in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
, and three years later was invited to referee their matches in season
1939–40. Unfortunately, that season was abandoned after three games, due to the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, and therefore Reader officially only refereed three Football League matches in his whole career.
However, during hostilities, Reader featured prominently in wartime football, and was appointed as referee in two
War Cup finals and the
British Home Championship and then, towards the end of hostilities, was appointed to take charge of Victory internationals between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and allied national teams. He retired from the Football League list in November 1944 but was still in such demand amongst foreign Football Associations that he was selected to officiate throughout Europe; in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
for a
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
versus
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
game in 1947, and also taking charge of matches in 1949 in
Stockholm (between
Sweden and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
), and in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
and
Lisbon. In 1948 the Football League took the unusual step of recalling Reader from retirement to referee the
Brentford versus
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
fixture at
Griffin Park. His swansong, at the age of 50, appeared to be the Rest of Europe versus Great Britain representative match at
Hampden Park, held to celebrate the "blessed Peace", but in 1949 England qualified for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
finals in Brazil.
1950 FIFA World Cup
As an adjunct to England's participation, FIFA requested that a team of British match officials journey to Brazil for the
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
. Despite reservations about his advanced age, Reader's international experience had placed him amongst those
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
could call on, and he was selected alongside
Mervyn (Sandy) Griffiths (of Wales),
George Mitchell (of Scotland) and the two English referees
Reg Leafe and
Arthur Ellis.
Given charge of the opening match, Reader's powers of control were put to the test just after
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
scored their first goal against
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. As was the custom, the goal heralded a mass invasion by reporters demanding immediate responses from goalscorer and goalkeeper. Ellis, watching on, later wrote, in his book ''The Final Whistle'': "How could any one man restore law and order? Somehow, George Reader did just that within a few minutes. He cleared the pitch almost single-handed and re-started the World Cup curtain-raiser as if it were an end-of-the-season fixture in the
Yorkshire League." In their next match against the
Swiss, the Brazilians voiced their criticisms of the Spanish referee,
Ramón Azon Roma, stating that he had cost them victory (
Jacques Fatton equalising in the 88th minute
Brazil v. Switzerland
1950 World Cup: ''Planet World Cup'' website.) and, as a result, the editor of a daily newspaper in Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...
, ''Gazeta Esportivo'', sang the praises of the British referees, telling his readers that even if they were to face England, Brazil would demand a British referee. "We must strongly demand that Brazil shall not take the field again in this World Championship if a British referee is not in charge. Even should we finally meet the English we shall still demand a British referee and have full confidence in him", he wrote. With England's early exit this unlikely event was averted. However, all four matches that Brazil played thereafter were refereed by one of the British contingent.
So, as Brazil won their way through to the final match, and as public expectation grew so much that it threatened to engulf even the massive Maracanã, each Brazilian game came to be refereed by one of the British team, including the decisive match of the final group stage.
The decisive game (Uruguay vs Brazil)
Reader had refereed two matches prior to the final group: the opening game (in which Brazil beat Mexico) and Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
's thrashing of the Bolivians
Bolivians ( es, Bolivianos) are people identified with the country of Bolivia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Bolivians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
in Group 4; but it was to be in his appointment to the final Brazilian game that he would secure his place in history. Although there was no provision for a final deciding match in this tournament, the last game of the tournament (albeit played at the same time as the Sweden v Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
fixture) was the determining fixture. Reader was appointed to referee this match, with Ellis and Mitchell running the lines. On the day of the final, Reader was 53 years and 236 days old, significantly older than any referee who officiated in the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
final at any other tournament.
Approximate recordings for the attendance that day differ wildly. FIFA consider that there were 174,000 people there; although other estimates indicate that there may have been between 199,854 and as many as 250,000 (which would have been more people than lived in Reader's Southampton at the time). In any event, it is the highest recorded attendance at a football match in history.
In the 47th minute of the game Obdulio Varela
Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela (; September 20, 1917 — August 2, 1996) was a Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguay national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popula ...
of Uruguay took the ball out of the net after Friaça
Albino Friaça Cardoso (October 20, 1924 – January 12, 2009), best known as simply Friaça (), was a Brazilian football striker.
He was born in Porciúncula. During his career (1944 – 1955) he played for Vasco da Gama, São Paulo and ...
's goal had put Brazil 1–0 up. Varela strode up to Reader and started arguing incomprehensibly in Spanish to the monolingual referee. By the time Reader had waved play to begin again, the crowd had settled and Varela had issued the rousing cry: "Now, it's time to win!" Brazil lost in such a shocking, emotional manner that suicides were reported at the stadium, and Jules Rimet
Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the presid ...
would comment (about the lack of noise from the massed banks of the Maracanã): "The silence was morbid, sometimes too difficult to bear."
Retirement
Uruguay went on to win and Reader returned home to Hanley Road in Southampton and promptly retired from refereeing, stating that he had had everything that football can give him. He ended his teaching career as headmaster of Western School, Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film
* ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
, in 1960.
George Reader became a director, and later chairman, of Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in 1963, and sat beside HM The Queen when Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...
's side won the 1976 FA Cup Final
The 1976 FA Cup Final was the 95th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 1 May 1976 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Manchester United and Southampton.
United had finished third in the First Division that season, and were strong fav ...
, passing away on the anniversary of the very first World Cup matches two years later.
References
External links
Feature on Southampton FC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reader, George
1896 births
Sportspeople from Nuneaton
1978 deaths
English footballers
Southern Football League players
English Football League players
Exeter City F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Cowes Sports F.C. players
English football referees
FIFA World Cup Final match officials
1950 FIFA World Cup referees
Southampton F.C. directors and chairmen
Association football forwards