| Born | c. 1954 (age 71–72) Preston, Lancashire, England | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Engineeringfitter | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| West Lancashire League | Referee | ||
| ?-1992 | North West Counties League | Referee | |
| ?-1992 | Football League | Asst. referee | |
| 1992–2001 | Football League | Referee | |
| 2001–2003 | Premier League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2002–2003 | FIFA /FA approved | Fourth official | |
Edward K. Wolstenholme[1] (born c. 1954,[citation needed]Preston, Lancashire[2]) is an English formerfootballreferee who officiated inthe Football League and thePremier League. He now lives inBlackburn,Lancashire, and may be remembered as the referee in charge of a football match in 2002 described as the "Battle of Bramall Lane".[3] His other occupation before becoming a professional forPGMOL in 2001 was as anengineeringfitter.[4]
Wolstenholme took up refereeing in 1978,[5] when an injury forced him to give up playing non-League football (forBamber Bridge, known as Walton-le-Dale F.C. at the time). After starting off in Sunday leagues, he then officiated in theWest Lancashire Football League, eventually moving up to theNorth West Counties League, and in season1992–93the Football League list, after having gained experience as a Leaguelinesman. His first match after being promoted was the 4–2 win byCrewe overTorquay[6] in the oldSecond Division on 15 August 1992.[7]
At the close of the1997–98 season, he was selected not only to referee the oldFirst Divisionplay-offsemi-final second leg, but theFinal itself. The semi-final second leg occurred on 13 May 1998, betweenCharlton Athletic andIpswich Town atThe Valley, and Charlton progressed by winning this 1–0 for a 2–0aggregate score.[8] The Final took place atWembley on 25 May 1998, and Charlton's opponents wereSunderland. The score being 3–3 at the end of 90 minutes,extra time was played, and a further one goal each was converted during that period. This meant that apenalty shoot-out was necessary, and Charlton gained a 7–6 "sudden death" triumph to secure their place in thePremier League for the1998–99 season.[9]
The end of the2000–01 season was very busy for Wolstenholme. He was first appointed to oversee theFA Vase Final on 6 May 2001 atVilla Park,Birmingham, played betweenBerkhamsted Town andTaunton Town, when theSomerset side won 2–1.[10] Then, on 13 May 2001, he took charge of theLeague Two play-off semi-final first leg betweenHull City andLeyton Orient, which finished 1–0.[11]
The following day, he controlled the 4–2 home win byWalsall overStoke in aLeague One play-off semi-final second leg, which was also the cumulative score that secured Walsall's progression.[12] Lastly, he was given the honour of refereeing the League One play-off final as well, played at theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff, on 27 May 2001, when Walsall won promotion to theChampionship by beatingReading by 3 goals to 2.[13]
He was offered full professional terms by theProfessional Game Match Officials Board during the following close season in 2001, and agreed to join the Select Group of referees (officiating in the Premier League), although this would only be for a maximum of two seasons before his retirement due to age restrictions.[4] He took charge of his first everPremier League match during the fixture involving Ipswich Town andDerby County atPortman Road on 21 August 2001, the home club winning 3–1.[14]
In 2002, Wolstenholme was involved in a match, which did not last the 90 minutes, but which remains in the records.Sheffield United playedWest Bromwich Albion at their home ground,Bramall Lane, in the oldFootball League First Division on 16 March 2002. He dismissed three players during the course of the game, all from Sheffield United. First to go was the goalkeeper,Simon Tracey, after 9 minutes for a handball outside the penalty area (an incident totally unrelated to the chaos that would ensue in the second half). Then, afterGeorges Santos crashed into Albion'sAndy Johnson on 65 minutes, he was also sent off. A minute later,Patrick Suffo was dismissed after a head-to-head confrontation withDerek McInnes. When two other players then had to be withdrawn injured after 77 minutes (coincidentally, immediately after West Brom scored their third goal), and with no replacements available, Wolstenholme had to abandon the game due to United having fewer than 7 players left on the field.[3] Amongst other sanctions taken by the Football Association, Sheffield United were fined £10,000 and their managerNeil Warnock £300. Santos (given a two-match ban) and Suffo (fined £3,000) never played for United again.[15] The score at the time of the abandonment was 0–3, and the result was allowed to stand despite the game not being completed.[16] The match was subsequently popularised with the title "theBattle of Bramall Lane".[3]
In the final minute of theEverton versusChelsea match atGoodison Park on 7 December 2002, and with the score 3–1 to the away side, he sent offDavid Unsworth of Everton[17] for "violent conduct" (using his knee) after an incident involving Chelsea'sDanishwinger,Jesper Grønkjær. After the match was over, Everton managerDavid Moyes had to be dissuaded from confronting Wolstenholme in his dressing room by five police officers. The referee would only say: "Striking an opponent is a red-card offence and it doesn't matter what you strike him with. Things will have to go through the proper channels now and I'll probably look at it again."[18] Despite this, the red card was eventually confirmed, although Everton did manage to prevent Wolstenholme from being involved during their match againstBolton 21 days later,Matt Messias replacing him asfourth official.[19]
On 12 February 2003, he was fourth official during the 3–1 home defeat forEngland againstAustralia in afriendly match atUpton Park, London. This was the most notable appointment throughout his sparse international involvement.[20]
After the 2–0 home win byMillwall overCoventry in theFootball League Championship on 5 May 2003,[21] Wolstenholme retired from refereeing, having officiated for only two seasons in the Premiership.
He then took up the role of a referees' assessor. While in that position prior to aPremier League match betweenBurnley andNewcastle United atTurf Moor in November 2018, Wolstenholme suffered a heart attack. The match was delayed by 30 minutes and he was hospitalised. He was later required to have heart bypass surgery.[22]
Wolstenholme carried out the trade of engineering fitter inPreston, Lancashire,[7] before briefly becoming a full-time paid referee from 2001 until his retirement in 2003. He has since become Referees' Officer for theLancashire County Football Association.[23] He still lives in the Pleckgate area of Blackburn, with his wife, Fiona, and they have two children, a son and a daughter.[7]