Graham Barber
Encyclopedia
Graham P. Barber is an English
former football
referee. He was based in Tring
in Hertfordshire
during his career, but now lives in Spain
.
List of referees via the Football League List, he was appointed to the FIFA
International List.
He took charge of his first major appointment, the Charity Shield
match between Arsenal
and Manchester United
at Wembley on 1 August 1999. The 'Gunners' were victorious by 2-1, thanks to second-half Kanu
and Parlour
goals, in reply to David Beckham
's strike in the 36th minute.
Seventeen days later, on 18 August 1999, he was man-in-the-middle for his first international
game, the friendly match between Greece
and El Salvador
in Kavala
, when Greece triumphed by 3 goals to 1.
His first major international engagement was the World Cup
qualifying match on 3 September 2000, involving Hungary
and Italy
in Budapest
, and this was drawn 2-2.
In the same month came his first UEFA Champions League
game, when he took control of Helsingborgs
versus Bayern Munich
at the Olympia Stadium
on 13 September - this ended in a 3-1 away win.
On 12 May 2002, he took charge of the Championship Play-off Final
at the Millennium Stadium
, Cardiff
, between Birmingham City
and Norwich City
. Birmingham won by 4-2 on penalties, after extra time saw one goal each scored (by Geoff Horsfield
and Iwan Roberts
respectively) following a scoreless 90 minutes. He had also been referee for two earlier appointments in 2002 at semi-final level in the Football League One
and Two
Play-offs.
The first of his only two European Championship
qualifying games, both in season 2002-03, was the encounter between Holland
and Belarus
on 7 September 2002 at the Philips Stadion
in Eindhoven. It ended in a comprehensive 3-0 win for the Dutch.
His domestic career highlight was the 2003 FA Cup Final
between Arsenal and Southampton
at the Millennium Stadium
on 17 May, when Robert Pirès
scored a 38th minute goal to claim the trophy for Arsenal.
His last professional season was 2003-04
. In this final period of his career he was given his last big European honour when he was chosen to referee the European Super Cup
game between AC Milan and FC Porto, held in the principality of Monaco at the Stade Louis II Stadium
on 29 August 2003. Andriy Shevchenko
scored the only goal to give Milan the verdict.
He was to handle one of the 2004 FA Cup
Semi-finals before his retirement from active top-class officiating at the end of that season, the tie between Arsenal and Manchester United
on 3 April 2004 at Villa Park
, Birmingham
. United won through thanks to a Paul Scholes
goal in the 32nd minute.
He retired in 2004, two years before the standard FA Retirement age.
s GKM-International.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
referee. He was based in Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
during his career, but now lives in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Career
In 1998, after progressing through to the FA Premier LeagueFA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
List of referees via the Football League List, he was appointed to the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
International List.
He took charge of his first major appointment, the Charity Shield
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
match between Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at Wembley on 1 August 1999. The 'Gunners' were victorious by 2-1, thanks to second-half Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu, OON , or simply Kanu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Portsmouth. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010...
and Parlour
Ray Parlour
Raymond "Ray" Parlour , is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé"; although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour, on account of his solid performance but...
goals, in reply to David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
's strike in the 36th minute.
Seventeen days later, on 18 August 1999, he was man-in-the-middle for his first international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
game, the friendly match between Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
and El Salvador
El Salvador national football team
El Salvador's national football team represents El Salvador in international football and is sanctioned by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol . In 1899, Santa Ana and San Salvador met for the first hosted football game in El Salvador...
in Kavala
Kavala Stadium
The Anthi Karagianni Municipal Stadium , formerly the Kavala National Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Kavala, Greece. It is the homebase of Kavala F.C. . The stadium was built 1970, and currently has a seating capacity of 10,500 . It is named after the paralympic athlete, Anthi Karagianni,...
, when Greece triumphed by 3 goals to 1.
His first major international engagement was the World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....
qualifying match on 3 September 2000, involving Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
and Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in Budapest
Stadium Puskás Ferenc
Ferenc Puskás Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated on the Pest side of the capital between the Stadionok and the Keleti Palyaudvar metro stations. It is currently used mainly for football matches. The stadium is going to be demolished sometime in 2012 and...
, and this was drawn 2-2.
In the same month came his first UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
game, when he took control of Helsingborgs
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF , commonly referred to as Helsingborg and locally HIF, is a Swedish football club located in Helsingborg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan...
versus Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
at the Olympia Stadium
Olympia (stadium)
Olympia, sometimes referred to as Olympiastadion , is a football stadium in Helsingborg, Sweden. It was opened in 1898, but has been rebuilt both 1993 and 1997, and has a capacity of 17,200 . All stands can be converted into seaters, giving a capacity of around 13,000)...
on 13 September - this ended in a 3-1 away win.
On 12 May 2002, he took charge of the Championship Play-off Final
Final (competition)
The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided.In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between the winners of two semi-finals...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, between Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
and Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
. Birmingham won by 4-2 on penalties, after extra time saw one goal each scored (by Geoff Horsfield
Geoff Horsfield
Geoffrey Malcolm "Geoff" Horsfield is an English former professional footballer, now football coach. He made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing as a striker. He is now a coach at Port Vale....
and Iwan Roberts
Iwan Roberts
Iwan Wyn Roberts is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a striker for a number of English league clubs. The most notable period of his club career was with Norwich City...
respectively) following a scoreless 90 minutes. He had also been referee for two earlier appointments in 2002 at semi-final level in the Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
and Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
Play-offs.
The first of his only two European Championship
2004 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...
qualifying games, both in season 2002-03, was the encounter between Holland
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
and Belarus
Belarus national football team
The Belarus national football team represents Belarus in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus, the governing body for football in Belarus. Belarus' home ground is Dinamo Stadium in Minsk...
on 7 September 2002 at the Philips Stadion
Philips Stadion
Philips Stadion is the 35,000 seater stadium of football club, PSV Eindhoven. It was first inaugurated on 31 August 1913. The stadium is located in the Philipsdorp part of the Eindhoven borough of Strijp, close to Eindhoven's city centre....
in Eindhoven. It ended in a comprehensive 3-0 win for the Dutch.
His domestic career highlight was the 2003 FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 2003
The 2003 FA Cup Final saw the holders Arsenal, beat Southampton. The match took place on Saturday, 17 May 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and ended 1–0 with a 38th minute goal by Robert Pirès separating the sides....
between Arsenal and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
on 17 May, when Robert Pirès
Robert Pirès
Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...
scored a 38th minute goal to claim the trophy for Arsenal.
His last professional season was 2003-04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
. In this final period of his career he was given his last big European honour when he was chosen to referee the European Super Cup
European Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
game between AC Milan and FC Porto, held in the principality of Monaco at the Stade Louis II Stadium
Stade Louis II
The Stade Louis II is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco. It serves primarily as a venue for football, being the home of AS Monaco and the Monaco national football team, as well as the location of the annual UEFA Super Cup match...
on 29 August 2003. Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
scored the only goal to give Milan the verdict.
He was to handle one of the 2004 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Semi-finals before his retirement from active top-class officiating at the end of that season, the tie between Arsenal and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
on 3 April 2004 at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. United won through thanks to a Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
goal in the 32nd minute.
He retired in 2004, two years before the standard FA Retirement age.
Life after football
He subsequently moved to Spain, where he works for property brokerBroker
A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
s GKM-International.
External links
- Graham Barber Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com