View source for Martin Atkinson

{{short description|English professional football referee}}
{{for|the member of the West Virginia House of Delegates|Martin Atkinson III}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox football official
| name = Martin Atkinson
| fullname = Martin Atkinson
| image = Martin Atkinson (cropped).jpg
| caption = Atkinson in 2014
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|3|31|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Drighlington]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]],{{efn|name=WRY|'West Yorkshire' did not exist before 1 April 1974. 'West Riding of Yorkshire' is correct}} England
| otheroccupation = Teacher 
| years1              = 1998–2000
| league1             = {{fbaicon|England}} [[The Football League|Football League]]
| role1               = [[Assistant referee (association football)|Assistant referee]]
| years2              = 2000–2003
| league2             = {{fbaicon|England}} [[Premier League]]
| role2               = Assistant referee
| years3              = 2002–2003
| league3             = {{fbaicon|England}} [[Football Conference]]
| role3               = [[Referee (association football)|Referee]]
| years4              = 2003–2005
| league4             = {{fbaicon|England}} Football League
| role4               = Referee
| years5              = 2005–2022
| league5             = {{fbaicon|England}} Premier League
| role5               = Referee
| years6              = 2022–present
| league6             = {{fbaicon|England}} Premier League
| role6               = Referee coach
| internationalyears1 = 2006–2018
| confederation1      = [[FIFA International Referees List|FIFA listed]]
| internationalrole1  = Referee
}}
'''Martin Atkinson''' (born 31 March 1971) is an English referee coach and retired professional [[Association football|football]] [[Referee (association football)|referee]] who officiated primarily in the [[Premier League]]. He is a member of the [[West Riding County Football Association]].<ref>[http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RefereeProfilesDetail/0,,10794~628215,00.html Profile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115195943/http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RefereeProfilesDetail/0%2C%2C10794~628215%2C00.html |date=15 January 2008 }}: [[English Football League|the Football League]] official website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008</ref>

Atkinson made his first appearance as an official in [[English Football League|the Football League]] as an assistant referee in 1995. Since he was promoted to the list of [[Select Group Referees]] in 2004 he refereed a number of notable matches, including the [[FA Community Shield]] and the finals of the [[FA Trophy]], [[EFL Cup|Football League Cup]], [[FA Cup]] and [[UEFA Europa League]]. Atkinson retired from field duties at the end of the 2021–22 season and will coach the select group one referees for Premier League in the 2022–23 season.<ref>{{cite web | last=Law | first=Matt | title=Exclusive: Premier League referees Martin Atkinson and Jonathan Moss will retire at end of season | website=The Telegraph | date=28 April 2022 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/04/28/premier-league-referees-martin-atkinson-jonathan-moss-will-retire/ | access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref>

==Career==
Atkinson started his refereeing career at the relatively early age of 16 years, as the local team did not have a referee to oversee matches. By 1998, he had been promoted to [[English Football League|the Football League]]'s list of [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referees]].

This was followed in 2000 by promotion to the Select Group of assistant referees. By December 2002 he was refereeing [[National League (English football)|Football Conference]] matches,<ref>[https://www.soccerbase.com/referees/referee.sd?referee_id=832&season_id=132 Football Conference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316001131/http://www.soccerbase.com/refs2.sd?refid=832&seasonid=132 |date=16 March 2008 }} referee, 2002: [[soccerbase]].com website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008</ref> and also refereed the 2003 [[FA County Youth Cup]] final.<ref>[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACountyYouthCup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2003/03/43329.htm FA Youth Cup Final 2003]: [[The Football Association|TheFA.com]] website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008</ref>

At the start of the [[2003–04 in English football|2003–04]] season, Atkinson joined the national list of referees. He had the distinction of not [[Misconduct (association football)#Sending-off offences .28red card.29|sending off]] any player from the field of play between August 2004 and October 2005.

Atkinson made his Premier League officiating debut on 18 September 2004 in a match between [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] and [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].{{cn|date=May 2022}}

During the three seasons between 2003 and 2006, Atkinson issued only eight red cards in 102 matches, an average of less than 0.08 per game.

In 2006 Atkinson was appointed to the list of [[FIFA]] referees.<ref>[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACommunityShield/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/06/Community_shield_referee.htm Appointment as FIFA referee], 2006: TheFA.com website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008</ref>

The [[2009–10 in English football|2009–10 season]] saw Atkinson referee 48 matches in English football, his highest tally of appointments in one season to date.

In September 2010, Atkinson was handed a one-week demotion to the role of fourth official after a time-keeping dispute with [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] manager [[David Moyes]]. Everton had scored two injury-time goals to make the score 3–3 against Manchester United, but Atkinson then blew his final whistle while Everton were midway through an attack with a chance of a winner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/|title=Football|website=mirror|accessdate=26 April 2021}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2023}}

On 22 May 2022, Atkinson was in charge of his final Premier league match, between [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] and [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] at [[Selhurst Park]], which also happens to be the ground he made his debut 17 years ago.{{cn|date=May 2022}} At the time of his retirement, he had refereed 462 games in the Premier league, which is second highest in the competition, after [[Mike Dean (referee)|Mike Dean]]'s 560.{{cn|date=May 2022}}

===2006 FA Community Shield===
Atkinson refereed the [[2006 FA Community Shield]] match at the [[Millennium Stadium]] in [[Cardiff]]. [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] defeated [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] 2–1, with Atkinson issuing four yellow cards during the course of the game.<ref>[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACommunityShield/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/06/CommunityShield2006.htm FA Community Shield 2006], Liverpool v. Chelsea: TheFA.com website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008</ref>
----
{{football box
|date=13 August 2006
|team1=[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
|score=1–2
|report=[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACommunityShield/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/08/LiverpoolChelseaTeams.htm (Report)]
|team2=[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
|goals1=[[Andriy Shevchenko|Shevchenko]] {{goal|44}} <br />[[Michael Ballack|Ballack]] {{yel|7}} <br />[[Frank Lampard|Lampard]] {{yel|15}} <br />[[Lassana Diarra|Diarra]] {{yel|68}}
|goals2=[[John Arne Riise|Riise]] {{goal|9}}<br />[[Peter Crouch|Crouch]] {{goal|80}} <br />[[Xabi Alonso|Alonso]] {{yel|61}}
|stadium=[[Millennium Stadium]], Cardiff
|attendance=56,275
|referee=}}
----
===2008 FA Trophy final===
Atkinson was appointed to referee the [[2008 FA Trophy Final]] at [[Wembley Stadium]], which was contested between [[Ebbsfleet United F.C.|Ebbsfleet United]] and [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]].<ref>[http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFATrophy/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2008/04/FATFinal_details.htm FA Trophy Final 2008], Ebbsfleet v. Torquay, referee: TheFA.com website. Retrieved on 16 April 2008.</ref>
----
{{football box
|date=10 May 2008
|time=14:30
|team1=[[Ebbsfleet United F.C.|Ebbsfleet United]]
|score= 1–0
|report=[https://archive.today/20080905091921/http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFATrophy/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2008/05/TheFATrophyFinal2008.htm (Report)]
|team2=[[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]]
|goals1=[[Chris McPhee|McPhee]] {{goal|45}} <br />Smith {{yel}} <br />[[Paul McCarthy (footballer born 1971)|McCarthy]] {{yel}} <br />[[Luke Moore|Moore]] {{yel}}
|goals2= <br />[[Martin Rice|Rice]] {{yel}}
|stadium=[[Wembley Stadium]], London
|attendance=40,186
|referee=}}
----
===2011 FA Cup final===
Atkinson was appointed to officiate the [[2011 FA Cup final]]. [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] defeated [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] 1–0; Atkinson issued two yellow cards to two Stoke players during the match.
----
{{football box
|date=14 May 2011
|time=15:00
|team1=[[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
|score= 1–0
|report= [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13346941.stm Report]
|team2=[[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
|goals1= [[Yaya Touré|Y. Touré]] {{goal|74}}
|goals2= [[Andy Wilkinson|Wilkinson]] {{yel|76}}<br />[[Robert Huth|Huth]] {{yel|40}}
|stadium=[[Wembley Stadium]], London
|attendance=88,643
|referee=
}}
----

===2014 Football League Cup final===
Atkinson refereed the [[2014 Football League Cup final]] between [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] and [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]. City won the match 3–1 and Atkinson cautioned two players, both late in the second half.
----
{{football box
|date=2 March 2014
|time=14:00
|team1=[[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
|score=3–1
|report=[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26311649 Report]
|team2=[[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]
|goals1=[[Yaya Touré|Touré]] {{goal|55}}<br />[[Samir Nasri|Nasri]] {{goal|56}}<br />[[Jesús Navas|Navas]] {{goal|90}}<br />[[Álvaro Negredo|Negredo]] {{yel|90}}
|goals2=[[Fabio Borini|Borini]] {{goal|10}}<br />[[Marcos Alonso Mendoza|Alonso]] {{yel|90}}
|stadium=[[Wembley Stadium]], London
|attendance=84,697
|referee=
}}
----

===Europe and international===
On 13 October 2007, Atkinson refereed a [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C|group C qualifier]] for [[UEFA Euro 2008|Euro 2008]] between [[Moldova national football team|Moldova]] and [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]]. The game in the Moldovan capital Chişinău ended a 1–1 draw, with the referee showing two yellow cards.

[[Image:Martin Atkinson yellow card Carr Rosicky.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Atkinson issues a yellow card during a fixture between [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] and [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in 2010]]
The 2008–09 season was the first that Atkinson took charge of [[UEFA Champions League]] games. That season he refereed four matches, including [[FC Zürich]] against [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] and [[F.C. Internazionale Milano|Inter Milan]] versus [[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo Kyiv]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://refworld.com/referee/29/0/martin-atkinson| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090809170348/http://www.refworld.com/referee/29/0/martin-atkinson| archive-date = 9 August 2009| title = Select Referee Profile - Martin Atkinson {{!}} Refworld}} </ref> In 2010 Atkinson was [[Assistant referee (association football)#Fourth official|fourth official]] to [[Howard Webb]] for the [[2010 UEFA Champions League Final|Champions League final]] in Madrid. He issued his first Champions League red card on 5 April 2011, to [[Cristian Chivu]] of Inter Milan as they lost 5–2 at home to [[FC Schalke 04|Schalke]].

Atkinson officiated multiple matches during [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification]], including the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification&nbsp;– UEFA Group 4|UEFA group 4 qualifying]] game between [[Germany national football team|Germany]] and [[Finland national football team|Finland]] in Hamburg on 14 October 2009 which ended 1–1.<ref>[http://www.refworld.com/news/1/article/qualifier-joy-for-select-group-officials/8363 FIFA World Cup qualifier] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715170956/http://refworld.com/news/1/article/qualifier-joy-for-select-group-officials/8363 |date=15 July 2011 }}, Germany v. Finland, referee: Refworld.com website. Retrieved on 27 November 2009.</ref> One month later, he officiated [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]'s 1–0 qualifying win over [[Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team|Bosnia and Herzegovina]].

He officiated at [[UEFA Euro 2012|Euro 2012]] as an [[Assistant referee (association football)#Additional assistant referee|additional assistant referee]] in a team with referee [[Howard Webb]].<ref name="Euro 2012 Referees">{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/competitions/General/01/77/43/22/1774322_DOWNLOAD.pdf |publisher=UEFA |title=Euro 2012 Referees |access-date=4 July 2012}}</ref>

The referee abandoned a [[UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group I|Euro 2016 qualifying match]] in Belgrade between [[Serbia national football team|Serbia]] and [[Albania national football team|Albania]] on 14 October 2014 when violence on the pitch and crowd disturbances broke out after a [[quadcopter]] was flown over the pitch bearing a flag of [[Greater Albania]].<ref>[http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/international/2014/1015/652433-serbia-and-albania-await-uefa-probe/ Serbia and Albania will be charged by UEFA] RTÉ Sports, 15 October 2014.</ref>

On 27 May 2015, Atkinson was in charge of the [[2015 UEFA Europa League Final]] between [[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]] and [[FC Dnipro|Dnipro]]. Seville won 3-2 and defended their title.

Atkinson refereed 3 games at [[Euro 2016]]: [[Germany national football team|Germany]] v [[Ukraine national football team|Ukraine]] and [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] v [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] at group stage, as well as a round of 16 game between [[Wales national football team|Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]].

With no English officials being selected for the [[2018 World Cup]], the first time since 1938,<ref>{{cite web |title=Fifa confirms no British referees will take part at Russia World Cup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/29/fifa-world-cup-no-british-referees-2018 |work=The Guardian |date=29 March 2018}}</ref> Atkinson refereed his last international match in March 2018, a friendly between Argentina and Italy at the [[City of Manchester Stadium|Etihad Stadium]] in Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |title=Atkinson cut Argentina-Italy cards |url=https://www.football-italia.net/118960/atkinson-cut-argentina-italy-cards |work=Football Italia |date=24 March 2018}}</ref> Atkinson would referee the [[Manchester Derby]] at the same stadium less than a month later, a performance that was criticised by former Premier League referee [[Keith Hackett]] who stated "if you want proof of why no English referee will be represented at this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia, look no further than Martin Atkinson’s performance at the Etihad on Saturday."<ref>{{cite web |title=Ashley Young had to be sent off for horror tackle - the fact he wasn't shows why our referees are not rated |last=Hackett |first=Keith |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/04/08/ashley-young-had-sent-horror-tackle-fact-wasnt-shows-referees/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/04/08/ashley-young-had-sent-horror-tackle-fact-wasnt-shows-referees/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph |date=8 April 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Atkinson was born in [[Drighlington]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]],{{efn|name=WRY}} but is now based near [[Leeds]].

==Statistics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Season!!Games!!Total {{yel}}!!{{yel}} per game!!Total {{sent off}}!!{{sent off}} per game
|-
|[[2002–03 in English football|2002–03]]||9||28||''3.11''||3||''0.33''
|-
|[[2003–04 in English football|2003–04]]||26||61||''2.34''||3||''0.11''
|-
|[[2004–05 in English football|2004–05]]||38||87||''2.28''||3||''0.07''
|-
|[[2005–06 in English football|2005–06]]||38||78||''2.05''||2||''0.05''
|-
|[[2006–07 in English football|2006–07]]||42||128||''3.04''||6||''0.14''
|-
|[[2007–08 in English football|2007–08]]||42||109||''2.60''||6||''0.14''
|-
|[[2008–09 in English football|2008–09]]||40||135||''3.38''||11||''0.28''
|-
|[[2009–10 in English football|2009–10]]||48||187||''3.90''||6||''0.13''
|-
|[[2010–11 in English football|2010–11]]||41||143||''3.49''||13||''0.32''
|-
|[[2011–12 in English football|2011–12]]||40||146||''3.65''||11||''0.28''
|-
|[[2012–13 in English football|2012–13]]||36||133||''3.69''||1||''0.03''
|-
|[[2013–14 in English football|2013–14]]||39||118||''3.03''||3||''0.08''
|-
|[[2014–15 in English football|2014–15]]
|48
|193
|''4.02''
|11
|''0.23''
|-
|[[2015–16 in English football|2015–16]]
|46
|169
|''3.67''
|1
|''0.02''
|-
|[[2016–17 in English football|2016–17]]
|43
|146
|''3.40''
|3
|''0.07''
|-
|[[2017–18 in English football|2017–18]]
|33
|118
|''3.58''
|5
|''0.15''
|-
|[[2018–19 in English football|2018–19]]
|34
|110
|''3.24''
|2
|''0.06''
|-
|[[2019–20 in English football|2019–20]]
|36
|110
|''3.06''
|5
|''0.14''
|-
|[[2020–21 in English football|2020–21]]
|30
|71
|''2.37''
|2
|0.07
|-
|[[2021–22 in English football|2021–22]]
|28
|75
|''2.68''
|3
|''0.11''
|-
|'''Total'''||737||2345||''3.18''||100||''0.14''
|}
<small>Statistics for all competitions. No records are available prior to 2002–03.</small><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/referees/referee.sd?referee_id=832|title=Martin Atkinson &#124; Latest Football Betting Odds &#124; Soccer Base|website=www.soccerbase.com|accessdate=26 April 2021}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Martin Atkinson}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091209021920/http://www.refworld.com/ Refworld.com] (archived)
* {{Soccerbase referee|832}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090122070357/http://ratetheref.net/ref/view/82/martin-atkinson Martin Atkinson]}} at RateTheRef.net
* {{EU-Football.info referee}}
* {{WorldFootball.net referee}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=[[FA Community Shield]] referee|before=[[Howard Webb]] |after=[[Mark Halsey]] |years=[[2006 FA Community Shield|2006]]}}
{{Succession box|title=[[FA Trophy]] Final referee|before=[[Chris Foy (referee)|Chris Foy]] |after=[[Mike Jones (referee)|Michael Jones]] |years=[[2008 FA Trophy Final|2008]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[FA Cup Final]] referee|before=[[Chris Foy (referee)|Chris Foy]] |after=[[Phil Dowd]] |years=[[2011 FA Cup Final|2011]]}}
{{Succession box|title=[[UEFA Europa League]] Final referee|before=[[Felix Brych]] |after=''[[Jonas Eriksson (referee)|Jonas Eriksson]]'' |years=[[2015 UEFA Europa League Final|2015]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{UEFA Euro 2016 referees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Martin}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bradford]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Leeds]]
[[Category:English football referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Champions League referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Europa League referees]]
[[Category:FA Cup final referees]]
[[Category:National League (English football) referees]]
[[Category:English Football League referees]]
[[Category:Premier League referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2016 referees]]