After a successful career being a FIFA Assistant Referee, Phil Sharp officiated on his final game as a FIFA Assistant Referee on Wednesday 9th December 2009.
Being one of the most successful Match Officials in football he has retired from International Football due to age legislation as a FIFA Assistant Referee after reaching the retirement age of 45.
Phil took up the whistle on 1st June 1981 through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in order for him to complete the Service in the Community component of the course. He officiated on his local leagues and gained promotion through the Hertfordshire Senior County League where he was promoted to the middle on the Southern Football League.
Promotion to an Assistant Referee to the Football League came in 1993 and after a very successful start officiated in the Premier League.
Phil was appointed Assistant Referee to The FA Challenge Cup Final in 1999 between Manchester United and Newcastle United at the old Wembley Stadium, Manchester United won the game 2-0 with an attendance on 79,101 at the ground.
He was nominated to the FIFA list of Match Officials on 1st January 1997 being appointed to his first International fixture in Budapest between Hungary v Norway. His progression internationally was exceptional where he took part in the 2000 European Championships co-hosted by Belgium and Netherlands where he reached the Semi Final of that tournament.
He also took part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he officiated on five games, one being the World Cup Final between Germany and Brazil, Refereed by Pierluigi Collina (Italy), Assisted by Philip Sharp (England), Leif Lundberg (Sweden) and Hugh Dallas (Scotland) as Fourth Official.
The first Club international Phil was appointed to was Panathinaikos v Legia Warsaw with his last Club international in December 2009 between Standard Liege and Az Alkmaar in the UEFA Champions League.
Some of his greatest achievements were to represent Great Britain at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Euro 2004 in Portugal and in 2006 went to the FIFA World Cup hosted by Germany.
On 18th October 2008 Phil was infamously struck by a coin thrown by a spectator at a Premier League game between Aston Villa and Portsmouth where he was Assistant Referee. This resulted in the game being stopped to allow him to receive the required treatment which resulted in him continuing the game and the incident being reported to the authorities.
Phil will continue to officiate where he has been so successful as an Assistant Referee on the Barclays Premier League as International duty does not affect his ability to continue domestically and we wish him well for the future both as an Assistant Referee and in his role as Referee Development Officer for Hertfordshire FA.