THE Ipswich area is to have a Football League referee again next season.Martlesham-based Mick Thorpe has been promoted to the National League of Referees, which effectively means he will be taking charge of matches in the Nationwide League.
THE Ipswich area is to have a Football League referee again next season.
Martlesham-based Mick Thorpe has been promoted to the National League of Referees, which effectively means he will be taking charge of matches in the Nationwide League.
Ipswich referees like Ray Aldous, John Osborne, John Chamberlain and Russell Morphew have officiated in the Football League, but Thorpe is the first from the area since Reg Robinson, who ran a shop in Woodbridge, in the Eighties.
Thorpe took charge of a FA Trophy semi-final this season and has been an assistant at the FA Youth Cup final in 2000 and the England versus Switzerland Under-18 match last season.
He began refereeing in 1988 and reached the Jewson League in 1993. He has been running the line in the Football League since 1995 and taking charge of Conference games since 1996.
The 32-year-old is married to Nicola and has a five-year-old son Dion. While Thorpe is stepping up, Suffolk is losing Trevor Pollard from the Football League line.
The referee from Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds has his last game at Layer Road, Colchester before coming off the list following a distinguished top level career. Like Thorpe he takes regular charge of Jewson League matches.
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