 | |||
| Full name | Peter Walton | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1959-10-10)10 October 1959 (age 66) Long Buckby, England | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1993-1994 | Football League | Assistant referee | |
| 1994-1998 | Premier League | Assistant referee | |
| 1998-2003 | Football League | Referee | |
| 2003-2012 | Premier League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1996-1998 | FIFA listed | Assistant referee | |
Peter Walton (born 10 October 1959)[1] is anEnglish former professionalfootballreferee who officiated in thePremier League from 2003 to 2012. Beginning 2013, he was general manager of theProfessional Referee Organization (PRO) in North America until being replaced byHoward Webb in January 2018.[2][3]
Walton is also a former player in theUnited Counties League. He is based inLong Buckby,[4]Northamptonshire, the village which he played his football for.[5] He lists his interests as current affairs and golf.[6]
During his professional career which spanned nearly 20 years, Walton refereed a number of notable matches, including the 2003 final of theFootball League Trophy and theFA Community Shield in 2008.
Walton began refereeing in 1986 in local leagues. He was appointed to the assistant referees' lists ofthe Football League in 1993, and thePremier League in 1994.
In 1996, he was an assistant referee for theFA Cup final atWembley Stadium, whenManchester United defeatedLiverpool with a lateEric Cantona goal.
In the same year he became aFIFA assistant referee, officiating in that capacity duringEuro '96 in England, notably in a group-stage match betweenGermany and theCzech Republic atOld Trafford, which Germany won 2–0.[7]
Walton was promoted to the Football League list of referees in 1998.[8] At this point, he also stepped down from the FIFA assistant referees' list.
In 2003, he was added to theSelect Group of referees and took charge of theFootball League Trophy final betweenBristol City andCarlisle United on 6 April, with the Robins triumphing 2–0.[9] He also refereed aDivision 1 play-off semi-finalsecond leg[10] and aDivision 3 play-off semi-final first leg[11] at the end of the2002-03 season.
His first Premier League appointment was a 4–3 home win byWolverhampton Wanderers overLeicester City atMolineux Stadium on 25 October 2003.[12]
At the end of January 2007, Walton accompanied Regional Referees' ManagerRay Olivier (a Football League referee himself) toGuayaquil, Ecuador, to undertake an Advanced Course for Referees' Instructors on behalf ofthe Football Association andCONMEBOL.[13] Olivier is quoted as saying: "It is also a great fillip to have someone of Peter's calibre as part of the team and his experience of refereeing in the Premiership is invaluable to those referees taking part in this workshop."[14]
Walton refereed the2008 FA Community Shield match betweenManchester United andPortsmouth, issuing three cautions during the game between the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners of the previous season, which United won 3–1 on penalties after extra-time.
Walton's last appointment as a Premier League referee wasEverton's 2–0 home win overWest Bromwich Albion on 31 March 2012. He then took up a new role as the general manager of theProfessional Referee Organization (PRO) for the Football Leagues in theUnited States andCanada, from 2 April 2012.[15]
Upon his appointment, Walton said to proreferees.com: "I think the referees we've got in North America are very good.
"I think the competitive nature of our leagues are very good as well and what I'm intending to do is match-up the referee abilities to that of the playing side.
"We can see great strides being taken with the league and with the infrastructure, with the players and I must make sure our referees are running parallel to that so we advance at the same pace and there isn't a gap developing or developed."[16]
Walton currently works as a referee analyst for BT Sport's coverage of the UEFA Champions League, discussing key decisions and explaining the usage of VAR, both in-game and post-match. During the 2019 Champions League semi-final second leg between Tottenham and Ajax, a celebrating Walton, in his BT studio, was inadvertently broadcast in the midst of the dramatic scenes following Tottenham's late winning goal. Walton also regularly appears onESPN FC.
| Season | Games | Total | per game | Total | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998/99 | 32 | 99 | 3.09 | 8 | 0.25 |
| 1999/00 | 31 | 86 | 2.77 | 4 | 0.13 |
| 2000/01 | 37 | 102 | 2.76 | 7 | 0.19 |
| 2001/02 | 35 | 113 | 3.23 | 13 | 0.37 |
| 2002/03 | 45 | 129 | 2.87 | 8 | 0.18 |
| 2003/04 | 31 | 64 | 2.06 | 4 | 0.13 |
| 2004/05 | 31 | 87 | 2.81 | 2 | 0.06 |
| 2005/06 | 42 | 126 | 3.00 | 6 | 0.14 |
| 2006/07 | 40 | 128 | 3.20 | 4 | 0.10 |
| 2007/08 | 41 | 123 | 3.00 | 5 | 0.12 |
| 2008/09 | 43 | 97 | 2.25 | 4 | 0.09 |
| 2009/10 | 36 | 91 | 2.53 | 6 | 0.16 |
| 2010/11 | 33 | 110 | 3.33 | 9 | 0.27 |
| 2011/12 | 22 | 68 | 3.09 | 2 | 0.09 |
