Keith Cooper

infobox football official
name = Keith Cooper


fullname = Keith Cooper
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1948|03|21
cityofbirth =
countryofbirth = Wales
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
otheroccupation = former Referees' ,
now Football pundit
years = 1975-1982
1977-1982
1982-1993
1993-1996
league = Football League
(Supplementary List)
Football League
Premier League
role = Asst. referee
Referee
Referee
Referee
internationalyears = ? -1996
confederation = FIFA listed
internationalrole = Referee

Keith Cooper (born March 21 1948) is a Welsh former football referee in the English Football League and Premier League, and was also on the Welsh FIFA list. During his time on the List he was based in Pontypridd.

Career

Cooper became a Football League linesman in 1975. Two years later he was included on the Supplementary List of referees at the age of only twenty nine. This was the last year that a supplementary list operated - ever since, referees have been promoted directly to the full List. He did not gain promotion for the following season and indeed had to wait another four years before reaching the Referees' List for season 1982-83.

By the late 1980s he was a frequent performer in the top division. He was not selected initially for the new Premier League in 1992 but in January 1993 he made the breakthrough with a match between Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=299951 First Premier League match] : soccerbase.com website.] and remained one of its referees for the rest of his career. His most senior domestic match was the 1994 League Cup Final between Aston Villa and Manchester United. [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=260061 1994 League Cup Final] : soccerbase.com website.] Villa won this game 3-1, their last goal coming from a Dean Saunders penalty after Andrei Kanchelskis had handled on the line and was dismissed.^†

Cooper completed two more seasons, operating entirely in the Premier League and Cups (as was standard for Premier referees at the time) before retiring in 1996. He later became a Football League assessor.

At international level he handled a number of matches, including a European Championship qualifier between the Republic of Ireland and Luxembourg in September 1987.

Retirement

Upon retirement, Cooper became Referees’ Officer for Wales. [ [http://www.carmarthentownafc.net/20articles.htm#assess Referees’ Officer for Wales] : Carmarthen Town website. Retrieved on February 11 2008.] He has now retired from that position, and has contributed to radio broadcasts as a football pundit. [ [http://news.glam.ac.uk/news/en/2002/sep/30/gtfm-radio-kicks-off-phone-in-for-bluebirds-fans/ Football punditry] with GTFM Access Radio Station: University of Glamorgan website. Retrieved on February 11 2008.] He currently makes regular appearances on the Talk Sport radio station, usually giving his opinion of recent refereeing decisions. [ [http://www.talksport1089.com/talksportnews11.html TalkSPORT Radio] , Cooper's contributions: "TalkSPORT1089.com" website. Retrieved on February 11 2008.] He is known for his frank views, such as being in favour of returning to the old off-side rules.fact|date=February 2008. He also announces for Cardiff City's website Cardiff City World.

References

Print

*Football League Handbooks, 1975-1981
*Rothmans Football Handbooks, 1982-1996
*^†Rothmans Football Handbook (1994) 1994-1995, Headline, p22
*Ionescu, Romeo (2003), The Complete Results & Line-Ups of the European Football Championships 1958-2003, Soccer Books Limited

Internet

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/refs2.sd?refid=69 Keith Cooper Referee Statistics] (incomplete and partially erroneous) at soccerbase.com