Hamilton ref George Cumming has reached the top of world football

Jul 15 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

GEORGE CUMMING might not be a name many associate with the pinnacle of world football – but that’s exactly where the Lanarkshire man ended up.

The 63-year-old took the giant leap from centre-half with Hamilton Accies, Partick Thistle and St Mirren to becoming a Grade One official in Scotland. He joined the Scottish Football Association (SFA) then the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), the sport’s worldwide governing body, as referee supervisor.

George has spent the last two years in Kuala Lumpur, where he was the referee supremo with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and head of their innovative Project Future. It puts the cream of the continent’s young referees through an intense two-year programme aimed at providing officials for major events such as World Cups and Asian Cups.

Although back living in Hamilton, George remains a consultant to the AFC and still regularly travels long distances to attend courses.

Former Dalziel High pupil George explained how it all started, saying: “I was a professional player then went to Carluke and I was player-coach up there for a wee while.

“I drifted away from the game for a bit but then I wanted to do something to get a bit of exercise and went to the Lanarkshire referee classes in Motherwell.

“I started refereeing in the Lanarkshire amateur league, did fairly well, got promoted and eventually got on to the Scottish Grade One list.

“I was Grade One for three years while I was the deputy-head of Lesmahagow High School. One day, I got a phonecall from Ernie Walker, who was SFA secretary at the time, to ask if I would go in to have a chat with him. They were going to appoint somebody to be their referee training officer and they wanted me to do it.

“I had to think it over because I had been teaching for over 20 years and I had a high position in the school – but I thought I would give it a go.

“That was 1987 or 88, so I left teaching, went to the SFA, and I’ve been involved in football now for the last 20-odd years. It has given me a nice life.”

Former Motherwell resident George added: “I was in charge of refereeing in Scotland for 13 years. I started off as referee training officer, then it was referee development director, and I then got a call from FIFA to ask if I would go and be their first head of refereeing.

“I lived in Zurich for two years and I was in charge of referees at the 2000 Olympic Games and 2002 World Cup.

“I decided to leave FIFA at the end of 2002, to come back home, but I still acted as a consultant.

“Then I got a call two-and-a-half years ago from Asia to ask if I was interested in going across there to help with their development work for young referees.

“I was over in Kuala Lumpur for two years, in charge of their young referee development programme.

“Some of the referees I have trained were in charge of games at the recent World Cup, and they did very well.”

George admitted that having been a player helped him as a referee, but insists that everything changes as soon as you pick up the whistle.

He said: “Playing is the best part of football – I loved my time and I played at a fairly high level – but when I was refereeing, I enjoyed that as well.

“I’m on a different side of things because it’s all about the administration of referees and it’s very interesting to see young officials coming through.

“Being a footballer has helped in refereeing because you get a feel for the game. You can relate to the players.

“But the minute you step over the line from being a footballer to being a referee, you’re a decision-maker, a law man, and not everybody is going to agree with what you say.

“You can relate to them, they can relate to you. At the end of the day, I was refereeing players that I had played alongside and managers who were had been players in my day.

“You’ve got a professional relationship with them. You go out there and call things as you see them, and when you’ve got to take action, you’ve just got to do it.

“The best referees are the ones who make the least mistakes. If you don’t notice the referee, it means he has had a good game.”

George has no doubt that he has been very fortunate to have had globe-trotting top jobs in football, and is grateful for the opportunities.

He said: “I’ve enjoyed it. Football has given me a great life and I’ve been very lucky to have been at the top level.”