Graham David Scott (born 10 October 1968) is a former English professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
who officiated in the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. He retired at the end of the 2024/2025 season.
Education
He was educated at
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...
from 1980 until 1987 and the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
.
Football career
Scott played football at youth as a goalkeeper for Abingdon Town. A long-term back injury was a persistent problem; fearing permanent damage, he retired from playing competitive football at the age of 27.
He started refereeing in 1997, originally at lower-league level and harbouring little serious ambition of progressing to the highest echelon of football officiating. However, following positive feedback from players he decided to take the role more seriously. He joined the National List of referees in 2008, officiating many important games, including
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
's upset of
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
in the
2012–13 Football League Cup
The 2012–13 Football League Cup (known as the Capital One Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd season of the EFL Cup, Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 Association football, football clubs played in English footb ...
. In November 2014 he officiated his first Premier League match, between
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
and
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
.
In 2015, he was promoted to the Select Group of Referees, who officiate the matches in the Premier League, replacing long-time referee
Chris Foy
Christopher Foy (born 20 November 1962 confirmation at
PGMOL sought to demote Scott at the end of the 2016–17 season after he refereed just eight Premier League matches all season – of the 19 Select Group referees, only Lee Probert refereed fewer matches. However, Scott appealed against his demotion and retained his place for the 2017–18 season. A number of improved performances has led to him to officiate an increased number of matches, with 13 Premier League matches and an EFL League Cup semi-final by the end of January 2018. He has established a reputation for consistent game management, as well as actively discouraging time-wasting, diving, and dissent, which has garnered some praise from football pundits and journalists.
See also
*
List of Old Abingdonians
Old Abingdonians are former pupils of Abingdon School or, in some cases, Honorary Old Abingdonians who have been awarded the status based on service to the School. The Old Abingdonians also run the Old Abingdonian Club (OA club), an organisation ...