 | |||
| Full name | Michael J. Jones | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1968-04-18)18 April 1968 (age 57) Chester, England | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1997–2018 | The Football League | Referee | |
| 2008–2018 | Premier League | Referee | |
Michael J. Jones (born 18 April 1968) is an English retired professionalfootballreferee based inChester. He is a member of theCheshire County Football Association.
He began refereeing inthe Football League in 1997 and was promoted in 2008 to the list ofSelect Group Referees who officiate allPremier League fixtures. In 2009, he refereed theFA Trophy final atWembley Stadium. Jones is now the Head of Refereeing at theEnglish Football League.
Jones was promoted tothe Football League's list of referees in 1997, his first match in charge beingMansfield Town againstHull City in August of that year.
His first game atWembley Stadium was also in 2007: theFootball League Twoplay-off final which sawBristol Rovers defeatShrewsbury Town 3–1. Jones dismissed Shrewsbury'sMarc Tierney in the last minute for a second bookable offence: Tierney became the second man to be sent off at the new Wembley.
In 2008 Jones became aSelect Group referee, allowing him to regularly officiate games in thePremier League. His first match in England's top flight was Hull City versusWigan Athletic.
In October 2009 Jones allowed a bizarre goal scored byDarren Bent forSunderland againstLiverpool, when his shot took a deflection off abeach ball which had been thrown onto the pitch by a fan in the Liverpool supporters' section.[1] He was subsequently demoted for one week to officiate a match in theFootball League Championship.[2] The beach ball from the incident was sent for display at England'sNational Football Museum in Manchester.
Jones was the fourth official for the2012 FA Cup final, withPhil Dowd taking charge.[3]
In the final moments of a 2013 Premier League game betweenNorwich City andCardiff City, Cardiff's goalkeeperDavid Marshall put the ball out of play to allow Norwich'sAlexander Tettey to receive treatment from a physio.Ricky van Wolfswinkel took the subsequent throw for Norwich and his teammateLeroy Fer tapped the ball into the net as Marshall looked on. The goal was disallowed by Jones who stated he had not blown his whistle to restart play. Cardiff's managerMalky Mackay praised the official's decision.[4]
FormerPremier League refereeDermot Gallagher toldSky Sports Jones refereed his final game on Saturday 5 May 2018 due to retirement.[5] The match atThe Hawthorns sawWest Bromwich Albion beatTottenham Hotspur 1–0.
| Season | Games | Total | per game | Total | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/98 | 29 | 68 | 2.34 | 2 | 0.07 |
| 1998/99 | 33 | 82 | 2.48 | 4 | 0.12 |
| 1999/00 | 38 | 82 | 2.16 | 5 | 0.13 |
| 2000/01 | 34 | 68 | 2.00 | 10 | 0.29 |
| 2001/02 | 36 | 111 | 3.08 | 9 | 0.25 |
| 2002/03 | 30 | 76 | 2.53 | 3 | 0.10 |
| 2003/04 | 33 | 103 | 3.12 | 8 | 0.24 |
| 2004/05 | 37 | 88 | 2.38 | 7 | 0.19 |
| 2005/06 | 39 | 109 | 2.79 | 5 | 0.13 |
| 2006/07 | 41 | 160 | 3.90 | 12 | 0.29 |
| 2007/08 | 45 | 134 | 2.98 | 7 | 0.15 |
| 2008/09 | 38 | 110 | 2.89 | 6 | 0.16 |
| 2009/10 | 33 | 110 | 3.33 | 5 | 0.15 |
| 2010/11 | 35 | 119 | 3.40 | 6 | 0.17 |
| 2011/12 | 33 | 112 | 3.39 | 9 | 0.27 |
| 2012/13 | 31 | 85 | 2.74 | 3 | 0.10 |
Statistics are for all competitions. There are no available records prior to 1997/98.[6]
