Raymond J. Olivier is an English 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, who operated in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 in that capacity, and in the Premier League as an assistant referee. He comes from Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield

Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...

 in the West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

.

Career

He began refereeing in 1980 in leagues local to his home, becoming an assistant referee in the Football League in 1993. A year later he progressed to the Premier League list of assistants, finally being elevated to the Referees List on Football League in 1998. He was fortunate to have officiated as a Referee, Assistant Referee or 4th Official at 88 out of 92 (current) professional clubs in England. The clubs he did not get to officiate at were Newcastle United, Hull City, Doncaster Rovers and Accrington Stanley.

His first match in charge after his promotion in 1998 was the Football League Third Division

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 (now League Two) encounter between Exeter City

Exeter City F.C.

Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...

 and Scarborough

Scarborough F.C.

Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

 at St James Park, Exeter on 15 August 1998, which finished 1-0 to the home side courtesy of a goal by Jon Gittens

Jon Gittens

Jonathan Antoni "Jon" Gittens, , is a former footballer who played for Swindon Town as well as for Southampton, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Torquay United and Exeter City.-Southampton:...

. In 2001, he refereed an FA Trophy

FA Trophy

The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...

 semi-final. Other significant games he has been involved in during his career: 2006 League Two Play Off Semi Final – 4th Official, 2005 League One Play Off Semi Final – 4th Official, 2005 U18 International England v Norway – Referee, 2003 Birmingham County FA Senior Cup Final - Referee, 2001 FA

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

 Umbro Trophy Semi - Final - Referee, 1998 England "B" v Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 "B" - Assistant Referee, 1998 Intertoto Cup Kongsvinger (Norway) v F.C. Twente (Holland) - Assistant Referee, 1997 GM Vauxhall Conference Spalding Cup Final - Referee, 1996 FA Umbro

Umbro

Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...

 Trophy Final - Assistant Referee, Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

 and in 1996 U21 International Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 v Germany - Assistant Referee.

Although never to officiate as a referee in the Premier League, on 1 September 2001 Olivier was appointed as a Regional Referees Manager for the Football Association. In his role as Regional Referees Manager, he has responsibility of seven County Football Associations; 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...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

 and Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

. The purpose of his role is to identify with County FA's and Area Training Teams in the region the current numbers and activities of referees at each level against the number of referees required to fulfil the departments aim and to follow the progress of referees in the region and provide training, development, support and encouragement. He also has National Responsibility for Referee Instructor Training. He continued to referee at Football League level whilst holding this position.

In January 2006, he and Peter Walton

Peter Walton (referee)

Peter Walton , is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League, and former player in the United Counties League. He is based in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, the town which he played his football for...

, the Premiership referee, held a seminar on refereeing development in Guayaquil

Guayaquil

Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, for the country's senior referees, following a cooperative agreement which had been signed in 2002 by Nicolás Léoz

Nicolás Léoz

Nicolás Leoz Almirón is the current President of CONMEBOL . Leoz assumed the presidency in 1986 and in February 2006 he was reelected as President for the sixth time...

 (president of CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL

The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...

), and the chairman of the FA, Geoff Thompson

Geoff Thompson (football)

Geoffrey "Geoff" Thompson OBE is the former chairman of the Football Association, and a vice-president of both UEFA and FIFA. He has long been associated with football especially in South Yorkshire, having previously been general manager of Doncaster Rovers and held senior positions in the...

. As qualified as a FA Licensed Referees Instructor in 1990 he has travelled extensively in Europe, Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda and South America delivering Senior Referee Development Programmes on behalf of The FA.

On 28 October 2006, after 33 minutes of a Notts County

Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 versus Bury

Bury F.C.

Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

 Football League 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....

 match, he was taken ill with a mild stroke, and had to be replaced by the fourth official, Jock Waugh. He was unable to referee again until Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

 of that year.

In January 2007, Olivier and Walton returned to the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil in order to carry out an "Advanced Course for Referees' Instructors", on behalf of the Football Association and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation).

Ray Olivier retired from refereeing in his 49th year, handling his final Football League match on 27 April 2007 - Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 v Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 in a League One fixture before retirement from the Football League in 2007. On 5 May 2007, he was invited to referee the Muratti Vase Final between Guernsey v Jersey.

He did not rest, and on 7 May 2007 assisted the FA's Head of National Referee Development, Ian Blanchard in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, Malaysia, helping to run a "Referee Recruiter Course" for the Asian Football Confederation

Asian Football Confederation

The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...

.

In November 2008, Olivier travelled with Neale Barry, Head of Senior Referee Development and Mike Riley

Mike Riley

Michael Joseph "Mike" Riley is an American football coach, currently the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers of the Pacific-12 Conference...

, Premier League Referee to Brazil to run an Elite Referees Workshop.

This year, 2009, Olivier travelled to Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 with Chris Foy, Premier League Referee and Dean Mohareb, Referee Development Officer at Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 FA to run a similar workshop to over 90 referees. After completing this workshop, he travelled on to Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 to deliver his 5th Referees Workshop and a two day Match Inspectors Workshop to over 150 people accompanied by his colleague Steve Swallow, Regional Referees Manager, North West

North West England

North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...

.

External links

• Ray Olivier Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com