The Aberdeen official who will be involved in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final has described it as an “unexpected honour”.
Assistant referee Andy Milne will be running the line during the showpiece between Hibs and St Johnstone at Hampden.
The 39-year-old, who began refereeing in 2009, said: “It’s a real unexpected honour to be honest.
“There’s not too many referees from Aberdeen that have done it.
“And there’s probably even less who haven’t been on the Fifa list that have done it.
“For me, I was quite late into refereeing because I played the game, so I was well into my 20s before I started refereeing.
“So to be able to start then get appointed to such a big game is really good – the Scottish Cup final is definitely the pinnacle.”
Wife responsible for start in refereeing
Milne revealed his wife Natalie is the reason he started refereeing after she signed him up to a class.
He explained: “My wife is probably the reason for it. I played amateur football in Aberdeen for about 10 years.
“And I was coming home and I was aching, sore muscles, waking up on the Sunday and I could barely walk, so my wife was moaning at me.
“She’d noticed there was a refereeing class coming up and persuaded me into it – she actually sent the email to sign me up.
“To be honest, it’s probably the best thing I could have done.”
When he started refereeing, Milne, who became a specialist assistant in 2014, says he had no ambitions of reaching this level.
Friends, family and fans unable to attend
Hampden will be empty tomorrow with no fans allowed to attend the final.
That’s a blow for Hibs and St Johnstone supporters and Milne appreciates how it feels with none of his friends or family allowed to attend.
He said: “When I first started refereeing in the Juveniles and the Amateurs, I didn’t really have any ambitions.
“But once you start you learn there are opportunities to referee at a higher level.
“I think it’s made for a different game without the supporters and it has taken something away from the atmosphere.
“For the final, my biggest disappointment is that none of my friends and family can be there because normally you can take a few people along.”
Milne has worked hard for his big day
Manager of Aberdeen and District Referees’ Association, Sandy Roy, was full of praise for Milne.
He said: “It’s the highest honour you can get in domestic football and Andy has worked really hard to get there.
“He decided he would go down the assistant referee route when that opportunity became available.
“He’s had a brilliant season and his marks have been very good all the way through, so it’s a good reward for what he’s done.”
Roy also hopes Milne’s progress may inspire others to take up refereeing.
The Aberdeen association’s next virtual class starts on June 9 and they are keen to recruit new members, with some existing referees not expected to return following a period of inactivity because of the pandemic.
Roy added: “At the moment there is the unknown in terms of how many of our referees at grassroots level haven’t had a game since March 2020 and how many of them will have found new pursuits?
“How many of our juvenile referees for example may have decided they won’t do it again? That’s why we’re having a class, because we expect there to be some discrepancies come August and the people who do this course will be ready to start by then.
“That’s the thinking, that we’ll have extra bodies to cover any losses that may occur because of the pandemic.
“Across a normal weekend with Highland League, Juniors, Amateurs, Sunday Amateurs, Juveniles and Aberdeen FC club academy fixtures, you’re looking at 150 games you need officials for.”
Anyone interested in joining the class should contact association secretary Roddy Cobb at roddycobb@sky.com or on 07825 350962.