Tiny Wharton

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Tom "Tiny" Wharton OBE (3 November 1927 in Glasgow – 9 May 2005 in Newton Mearns) was a Scottish football referee in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Known as Tiny, due to his colossal 6'4" frame, he was one of the most iconic and respected officials of his generation.

He was raised in the Parkhead area of Glasgow; the brothers John Cairney (actor and writer) and Jim Cairney (footballer with York City) were childhood acquaintances.[1]

An engineer by profession, Wharton took up refereeing at the age of 21 and had reached Class I status within 3 years.[2] He refereed a number of important and high-profile games during his career, including the Scottish Cup finals of 1961–62, 1962–63, 1965–66 and 1970–71, and the League Cup finals of 1960–61, 1962–63, 1966–67 and 1970-71.

Wharton's prowess was recognised outside

Fiorentina at Hampden Park. He officiated in qualifying matches for the 1962[3] and 1970[4] World Cups, as well as UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying.[5]

In later years, Wharton was chairman of the

Scottish football and FIFA's Order of Merit in Gold in 1992. He was described by FIFA president Sepp Blatter as "one of the world's most distinguished refereeing officials".[6] In 2003, he retired from the SFA's Referee Supervisors Committee.[7]

References

  1. ISBN 978-1845967772
    .
  2. ^ "BBC SPORT | Scotland | Football mourns death of Wharton". BBC News. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  3. RSSSF. "World Cup 1962 qualifications"
    . Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ^ RSSSF. "World Cup 1970 qualifications". Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. ^ UEFA. "Italy 4-0 Switzerland". 23 December 1967. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  6. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  7. ^ UEFA. "Scotland's pride in its referees". 17 June 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
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