Happy birthday to long time personal friend and Leeds United supporter Martin Atkinson. Martin is a former English football referee who was a FIFA-listed referee for over a decade. He officiated many international matches, including: FIFA World Cup qualifiers (e.g. Germany vs Finland, Portugal vs Bosnia) UEFA European Championship tournaments (Euro 2012 & Euro 2016 involvement) . He also refereed at top European level: Martin is no longer an active match referee.
After retiring from on-field refereeing in 2022, he moved into coaching and development roles. He then worked as a referee coach in English football, helping develop Premier League officials. More recently, he was appointed VAR Manager for the Scottish Football Association, taking up the role around late 2024.
Come back to England pal and work you magic on ours.
