We continue our feature looking at the members of the Scunthorpe Referee’s Association and their career as a match official.
The latest featured Scunthorpe Referee’s Association member is Kevin Allen, as we return for a second instalment with the local official who officiated around the world while with the Army.
Last time out, we covered his time in Northern Ireland. One final story is detailed in the graphic from his tour there before he began talking about his posting to Cyprus.
Kev has five stories in total from his time there, with the majority being told in Part Three of our series, but we begin with the only time a bribe was offered to him to date.
“The pitch was inside a small local stadium in Limassol with seating around the edges,” he began.
“We were advised to take extra t-shirts and referee shirts to the game as the home crowd were very partisan. Even though it was very hot we put our t-shirts under our match shirts as advised.
“It was clear within a few minutes why we were given the advice. Every decision against the home team brought a response from the crowd. If not verbal you could feel the impact of spit as it hit your back. At half-time we put on clean t-shirts and match shirts.
“This was the only game in my career where I was offered a bribe. The home team were losing and their manager offered me £30 to give his team a penalty. This was reported to the league and he was fined.”
