Ken Burns (referee)

Kenneth Burns (born c. 1931) is an English former football referee who officiated in the English Football League, and on the FIFA list. During his refereeing career he was based in Stourbridge, in the borough of Dudley, West Midlands, and was by profession a legal executive.

Career

He made the Football League referees list at the age of thirty in 1961. On April 29 1967, he refereed the FA Cup semi-final between Leeds United and Chelsea at Villa Park, which the London side won 1-0, after Burns had disallowed two late Leeds goals. [ [http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19670429.htm Leeds 0 Chelsea 1] , FA Cup semi-final, 1967: "MightyLeeds.co.uk" website.] Revenge was to come six months later, in an old First Division fixture at Elland Road between the two sides, on October 7 1967. Burns also refereed this, and the Yorkshire team won 7-0. [ [http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19671007.htm Leeds 7 Chelsea 0] , First Division, six months later: "MightyLeeds.co.uk" website.]

In 1968 he was promoted to FIFA international status, at the age of thirty seven. His greatest domestic honour came in 1973 when he refereed the FA Cup Final between Leeds and Sunderland at Wembley. This is a well-remembered Final, not least for a crucial double-save by North East goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, as Sunderland, of the old Second Division, defeated Leeds, one of the top clubs in the country at that time, by 1 goal to nil. He was serving as president of the Referees' Association when he took this appointment. [ [http://www.ynw62.dial.pipex.com/thirty35.htm Appointment to FA Cup Final 1973] , whilst serving as Referees' Association president: Bob Dunning's "Rothman's Football Yearbook" online archive (point 10).]

Burns was a regular official in European competitions, at both international and club level. He controlled the European Championships qualifier between Portugal and Belgium on November 21 1971, for a place in the 1972 competition finals. [ [http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~nfm24/football/1971e.html European Championships qualifier] , 1971: "srcf.ucam.org" statistical website.] He also took charge of a European Cup quarter-final between Bayern Munich and Ajax in 1973. [ [http://ds.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/thirty33.htm European Cup quarter-final] , 1973: Bob Dunning's "Rothman's Football Yearbook" online archive (point 3).] He could have received more appointments of this stature, but for his busy fellow West Midlander, Wolverhampton's Jack Taylor, who was England's senior representative at that time.

Burns retired in 1978 after seventeen years of Football League refereeing and ten at international level. By coincidence, his career had also overlapped with another long-serving Football League, FA Cup Final and international referee from Stourbridge - Eric Jennings.

References

Print

*Football League Handbooks, 1961-1970
*Rothmans Football Yearbooks, 1971-1978
*Ionescu, Romeo (2003) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Fairs Cup 1955-1971, Soccer Books Limited
*Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup 1955-1991, Soccer Books Limited
*Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Cup Winners Cup 1960-1999, Soccer Books Limited
*Ionescu, Romeo (2004) The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the UEFA Cup 1971-1991, Soccer Books Limited

Internet