Philip Dowd (born 26 January 1963)
: The Football League Official website. is a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional football referee who officiated primarily in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. He is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and was a member of the Staffordshire Football Association. Dowd made his first appearance as an official 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 ...

as an assistant referee in 1992. Since he was promoted to the list of

Select Group Referees The Select Group is a panel of English professional football referees and assistant referees, appointed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). Select Group 1 In August 2022, the PGMOL announced the referees and assistant referee ...

in 2001 he has refereed a number of notable matches, including the finals 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 ...

, in 2012, and the Football League Cup, in 2010, as well as the FA Community Shield in 2011.

Career

Dowd began refereeing in local leagues in 1984, eventually officiating in the Staffordshire Senior League and

Midland Football Alliance The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Not ...

. He was appointed to

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 ...

list of assistant referees in 1992, before joining the League's full list of referees in 1997, aged 34. He was promoted to the

list in 2001, his first match being a fixture between Fulham and Everton in December of that year. The 2014–15 season in English football was his fifteenth year refereeing in the top flight of English football. In 2006, Dowd was the

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...

at that year's FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. In 2009, Dowd gave Manchester United star

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...

a second yellow and sent him off for throwing the ball at Dowd out of anger. On 5 February 2011, Dowd was appointed to a Premier League fixture between Newcastle United and Arsenal, notable for becoming the first game in the league's history in which a team recovered from being 4-0 down to salvage a draw. Dowd issued a 50th-minute red card to Arsenal's

Abou Diaby Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending. Described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and a ...

for violent conduct towards two Newcastle players following a challenge with

Joey Barton Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the man ...

. On 26 December 2011

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

's Conor Sammon was sent off by Dowd during his team's 5–0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Wigan appealed the decision and

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 ...

rescinded the red card three days later. After missing the whole of the 2015–16 season due to injury the PGMOL announced Phil Dowd had retired.

Notable matches

2010 League Cup Final

On 28 February 2010 Dowd refereed the League Cup final between Manchester United and Aston Villa at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. In the fifth minute of the match, Dowd deemed Manchester United's

Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, was part of the Serbia national team, and ...

to have fouled Aston Villa's

Gabriel Agbonlahor Gabriel Imuetinyan Agbonlahor (born 13 October 1986) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward; he mostly played as a central Striker (association football), strike ...

in the penalty area. Whilst Dowd did award Villa a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, he elected not to punish Vidić; some commentators felt the offence qualified as a

professional foul In various sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play intended to bring about an advantage for the perpetrator's team. Professional fouls are usually committed to prevent an opponent from scoring. Various sports contain provisi ...

and therefore warranted a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

. United overturned Villa's early penalty to ultimately win the match, and trophy, 2–1.

2011 FA Community Shield

Dowd officiated the

2011 FA Community Shield The 2011 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield sponsored by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 89th FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Premier League and ...

on 7 August 2011 between Manchester City and Manchester United, also the 160th

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough of ...

, at London's

. United won the match 3–2 with a last-minute winner courtesy of Nani. Dowd issued seven yellow cards during the course of the game.

2012 FA Cup Final

Dowd refereed the

2012 FA Cup Final The 2012 FA Cup Final was a football match between Chelsea and Liverpool on 5 May 2012. It was the final match of the 2011–12 FA Cup, the 131st season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Chelsea were participatin ...

between

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 ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, at Wembley Stadium on 5 May 2012. He was assisted by Stuart Burt and Andrew Garratt and Mike Jones was the fourth official. Dowd described his appointment to the Cup final as an "honour and privilege". The fixture took place on the third anniversary of the death of his father, whom Dowd said had always hoped to see his son referee a final of the FA Cup.

Card statistics

Statistics for all competitions. No records are available prior to 1998/99.

References

External links

Phil Dowd Profile
at Refworld.com
Phil Dowd Referee Statistics
at

soccerbase ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60 ...

.com
Phil Dowd on RateTheRef.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowd, Phil English football referees Sportspeople from Stoke-on-Trent 1963 births Living people FA Cup Final referees English Football League referees Premier League referees