.jpg) | |||
| Full name | Craig Thomson | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1972-06-20)20 June 1972 (age 52) Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Other occupation | Solicitor | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1988–2019 | Scottish Football Association | Referee | |
| 2000–2002 | Scottish Football League | Referee | |
| 2002–2013 | Scottish Premier League | Referee | |
| 2013–2019 | Scottish Professional Football League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2003–2018 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Craig Alexander ThomsonMBE (born 20 June 1972[1]) is a Scottish former football referee, who was a match official between 1988 and 2019.[2] Thomson originates fromPaisley, Renfrewshire.[3]
Thomson has officiated in theScottish Premier League since 2002, and his first match in charge in that League was the fixture betweenSt Johnstone andHibernian on 12 May 2002.[4] Thomson became aFIFA referee in 2003.[1] His first International match for FIFA was the 4–1 defeat ofNorthern Ireland byNorway atWindsor Park,Belfast, on 18 February 2004.[5] His next most notable match abroad was the2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between theFaroe Islands andFrance on 8 September 2004, when he sent offPatrick Vieira during a 2–0 win for the French.[6]
Domestically, he handled the2006 Scottish Challenge Cup final betweenRoss County andClyde.[7] He was selected to referee during theUEFA Under-21 Championship 2007, held in the Netherlands.[2] This included him issuing a second yellow card toBelgium'sMarouane Fellaini in the 18th minute of their Group A match againstIsrael on 13 June in theAbe Lenstra Stadion.[8] He was not appointed to referee any other games in the Championship. Thomson appeared as afourth official atUEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria.[9]
Thomson took charge of the2009 Scottish Cup Final betweenRangers andFalkirk. In the2010 Scottish League Cup Final between Rangers andSt Mirren, Thomson sent off two Rangers players inDanny Wilson andKevin Thomson.[10] Other high-profile matches include a friendly between France andSpain on 3 March 2010 as well as a number ofOld Firm matches.[citation needed]
On 12 October 2010, Thomson abandoned theItaly–SerbiaEuro 2012 qualification match after seven minutes of play due to crowd disorder.[11] Italy was later awarded a 3–0 victory by UEFA for the forfeit.[11] The following month,Real Madrid playersSergio Ramos andXabi Alonso appeared to deliberately incur second yellow cards from Thomson in aUEFA Champions League match, thereby serving a suspension in adead rubber match.[12] Then Real Madrid coachJosé Mourinho denied that the players had sought to be sent-off.[13]
In the2011 Scottish League Cup final between Celtic and Rangers, Thomson awarded Rangers apenalty, but then changed his decision.[14] In the final Old Firm match of the 2010–11 season, Thomson awardedCeltic a penalty with seven minutes remaining, which was saved by Rangers goalkeeperAllan McGregor.[15]
In 2011, Thomson refereed the France–Bosnia and Herzegovina Euro 2012 qualification match.[16]
Thomson was appointed for the2012 Scottish Cup final, which was won 5–1 by Hearts against theirEdinburgh derby rivals Hibernian.[17] During the match, Thomson failed to send off Hearts midfielderIan Black for a horrific challenge on Hibs strikerLeigh Griffiths and also awarded a penalty to Hearts for a foul which television replays showed to be incorrect. He was also photographed with Hearts supporters post match making a "5-1" hand gesture.[18]
Thomson was selected in December 2011 to referee in theEuro 2012 final stages.[19] He took charge of the group stage matchesPortugal–Denmark andCzech Republic–Poland. Thomson was also in charge of a2014 World Cup qualification match betweenRomania and theNetherlands on 16 October 2012 inBucharest.[20]
In March 2013, Thomson refereed aChampions League quarter-final match betweenBorussia Dortmund andMálaga, which Dortmund won with two late goals.[21]Scottish FA chief executiveStewart Regan spoke in defence of Thomson, saying that he had performed well to earn the high-profile appointment and that the problems in the Borussia Dortmund–Málaga match had been due to his assistants.[22] Thomson hoped to be selected for the2014 World Cup final stages,[23] but FIFA omitted him from their list of 14 officials for the tournament.[24]
Thomson officiated the2014 Scottish Cup Final atCeltic Park in Glasgow in which Perth side St Johnstone beatDundee United 2–0.[25]
He retired from refereeing at the end of the2018–19 season.[26]
Thomson was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2020 New Year Honours for services to football and charity in Scotland.[27]
Thomson is currently a solicitor who specifies in construction and engineering law.[28]
