A Carlisle-based referee said he is 'forever grateful' after making his English Football League (EFL) debut at the weekend.
John Mulligan, 34, manned the whistle during the EFL Two match between Port Vale and Fleetwood Town on Saturday, October 19, which saw Port Vale come out on top with a 3-1 victory.
Earlier this month, he also officiated the EFL Trophy midweek game between Morecambe and Nottingham Forest U21s alongside another Cumberland FA match official, Scott Henry, who acted as John’s assistant referee.
Cumberland FA's referee development officer, Scott Taylor gave John a 'huge congratulations' on his debut that fell on his birthday.
"Our appointments aren’t released by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) until 4 pm on a Monday and as I was out for a late lunch with my wife Alex, I was blissfully unaware," John said.
"However, those who I’m close to soon notified me. And once I had managed to log in to see it for myself, I was quite emotional.
"It’s a culmination of 16 years of dedication, sacrifice (both personal and professional), and ultimately hard work, all to pursue the dream that every referee has when they first start, which is to referee in the Football League," he said.
Mr Mulligan expressed thanks to those who have supported him, including Scott Taylor who was his FA tutor at the time of the refereeing course.
"I started out at Melbourne Park in the Carlisle City Sunday League, refereeing Sunday morning men’s football to begin with, coupled with lining in the Northern Alliance on a Saturday.
"This provided strong foundations for both aspects of the refereeing pathway.
Read more: Cumberland FA's young referees are making the right calls
"Then it was onto refereeing locally in the Cumberland County League and Northern Alliance before working my way through the footballing pyramid in terms of the FA National League System (Steps 6 to Step 2) gaining refereeing promotions as a Level 4, 3, 2b, 2a and now as Level 1 National Group Referee with the PGMOL.
"It certainly hasn’t been an exponential rise as there have been many bumps and challenges along the way.
"However, having the right people to support me helped when times were tough.
"Without all of their help, I wouldn’t have reached this milestone and I will be forever grateful for their time, expertise and belief in my abilities," he said.
To get into refereeing with the Cumberland FA, you can visit www.cumberlandfa.com/referees/get-into-refereeing
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