PREMIERSHIP referee Matt Messias tells Evening Press sports writer Dave Flett how officiating in York helped shape his career.

SOME pundits claim Matt Messias struck a blow for referees up and down the country when he flattened serial bad boy Robbie Savage with a flailing elbow this season.

But Messias, who welcomes his tough guy reputation as an official, insists his hilarious tangle with the Welsh international was unintentional and not the result of any crafty acts of revenge he nurtured during his time as a well-respected whistle blower in York's local leagues.

"I told him that if I had meant to hit him he would not have got up but some of my colleagues thought it was deliberate," joked Messias.

York's St John's College served as a breeding ground for Messias' interest in refereeing and no other man in footballing officialdom history has made the unlikely journey from taking charge of games on the city's park pitches to running the line at the Nou Camp in front of 105,000 people and becoming a regular man in the middle for key Premiership clashes.

But Messias, who was named on FIFA's international list in January, acknowledges the part football in York has played in his rise to the top.

To illustrate the point, he names York City and District Referees' Association training officer David King as one of the key figures in his early development as an official, saying; "I worked with David and people like him. Stu Rennison and Richard Waft helped me a lot when we worked together in the Northern Counties East League. We worked with each other week in, week out and had some great fun."

Messias first started refereeing to acquire "another string to his bow" in his quest to become a PE teacher and because his days as a midfield player for Hertfordshire's county team and St John's College were ended by a cartilage operation at the age of 20.

"I tried to make a comeback but was bottling out of tackles so I thought it was better to pack in and started refereeing college matches," Messias explained.

He started to take refereeing more seriously after leaving St John's with a Human Movement Studies degree and graduating as a teacher in Leeds. He took charge of his first senior match in Scarborough and it was a memorable occasion.

"I was given a match between a Scarborough side and a team from Bridlington," he recalled. "It was very, very rough and one player said before the game 'Good we've got a young one here'.

"But I looked a bit like Vinnie Jones in those days and sent three off and booked 10."

Messias has never been afraid to lay down the law and brandish his red card and, when asked to choose his best game as a referee, his choice is perhaps unusual in that it is also probably his most controversial.

During his first year on the Football League list, Messias sent off four players in the 88th minute of the Gillingham v Bristol Rovers match, angering both sets of supporters and managers in equal measure.

"I have always been known as quite a strict referee," Messias admits. "And that was one of the best games I have refereed.

"People stood up and took notice after that. The next week I was refereeing Millwall v Manchester City and sent a few more players off which did not go down too well at the New Den!"

Messias spent a brief spell refereeing in the York and District Saturday League after being appointed as the Head of PE at Thirsk School but he was soon promoted to the Northern Counties East League where players from Selby Town, Harrogate Railway, Pickering Town and Tadcaster Albion regularly came under his authority.

Further promotions to the Pontin's League and Vauxhall Conference followed before Messias enjoyed two-year spells as an assistant referee for the Football League, Premier League and FIFA.

His highlight as an assistant was running the line at Barcelona for a European Cup semi-final in 1996.

He then spent three years as a Football League referee before becoming one of the game's first professional officials when he joined the Premier League list three years ago.

But Messias' first top-flight appointment brings few fond memories - he ranks his performance in the game as his worst ever as a referee.

"It was between Derby and Coventry and I was not at the races at all," he said.

"It could have been nerves or a lack of experience but I did not referee very well. I remember cautioning Malcolm Christie for diving but the video later proved he didn't and it was a poor decision."

Since being named as a FIFA referee, Messias has taken charge of an Intertoto Cup match in Slovenia and recently returned from an Under-19 tournament in the Ukraine featuring the hosts, France, Armenia and Bosnia.

His performances in Europe could lead to eventual European Championship and World Cup recognition but, for now, he is just concentrating on enhancing his reputation although he admits: "I would love to referee the FA Cup final."

He lists George Courtney and David Elleray, who he ran the line for as an assistant in Europe, as his major role models for their "totally unflappable personalities, knowledge of the game and respect they commanded from the players".

But he does not necessarily subscribe to the popular view that bald-headed Italian Pierluigi Collina, who took charge of the volatile Turkey v England game at the weekend, is the planet's best referee.

Messias said: "I would not particularly agree that he's the best in the world. He has been suspended on a number of occasions in Italy for his poor performances and, as a referee, I think it is easier to be more popular in different countries because your mistakes are not being highlighted week in, week out.

"Having said that, I would agree that he is the best referee for international games because he commands respect from all the players."

When asked what rule change the former school teacher would make to the game, he stresses that the time has come for technology to be used to determine when a ball crosses over the goal-line.

Keen observers will also have noticed that Messias is no longer York's sole representative in the Premiership, having moved to Barnsley.

But the former York resident of 12 years and casual Minstermen fan may only be on loan to the South Yorkshire town, having told the Evening Press: "I loved living in York and had a great time at St John's College.

"It's a beautiful city and I only moved because I got married to a girl in Barnsley but we have had a baby and will probably come back to York because we like the area so much."

Updated: 11:33 Wednesday, October 15, 2003