Saturday’s referee for the Swans last game of the “regular” season at Watford is Geoff Eltringham who takes charge of us for the third time this season.
25 Championship games have passed this season where he has taken the whistle and with 72 yellows and 5 reds to his name there is a reasonable chance I guess of a red card tomorrow.
He first up the whistle at the age of 15 and progressed through the ranks before being appointed to the National list of referees for 2009/10.
Geoff last season completed his 3rd year as a SG2 referee and he aims to build both actively as a referee whilst continuing his role as a FA Core coach and Durham FA academy director.
He has refereed over 400 games in the EFL, with his first a 2-2 draw between Morecambe and Hereford.
Eltringham was shown a yellow card himself last season by Swans striker Rhian Brewster in a draw at Preston and also has the unfortunate disposition of being a Sunderland fan even turning to refereeing so he could give up his season ticket at the Stadium of Light.
“It was hard,” Geoff recalled. “At the time, I was devastated. Yet only in the short term, really. It was the best decision I’ve ever made and I’ve never regretted it for one minute. I hadn’t been taking refereeing that seriously over the first few years but that had all changed.
“I was refereeing a park match and an assessor, Malcolm Langley, turned up to watch a different game. He watched a bit of my match as well and, when we got chatting afterwards, he said that maybe I should go for promotion. He set me on my way and we’ve become very good friends.”
🤣 @RhianBrewster9 👏
🗣️ https://t.co/hojq0LNZg2 pic.twitter.com/5KjRHpjt7W
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) February 2, 2020
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Eltringham will be assisted by Robert Merchant and Mark Russell whilst Andy Woolmer is the fourth official.