Keith Paul Stroud (born 12 August 1969Profile : the Football League official website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.) is a former professional English football referee who officiated in the Football League. He currently works as a referee coach for the PGMOL.
Career Stroud first took up refereeing in 1988. He progressed via the Wessex League,Confirming his place of residence, and his having officiated in the Wessex League: archived report from the HampshireChronicle.co.uk website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. becoming a National List assistant referee in 2000 and a Select Group assistant referee in 2002. Also in 2002, he was an assistant referee for the old Division Three play-off final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Cheltenham Town and Rushden & Diamonds.Division Three play-off final , 2002: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. Stroud was appointed as one of the assistant referees to Graham Barber during the FA Cup Final 2003, when Arsenal defeated Southampton 1–0, again at the Millennium Stadium, on 17 May 2003.2003 FA Cup Final (assistant referee): TheFA.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
Stroud was promoted from the Football Conference to the National List of referees in 2004 and became a FIFA assistant referee in the same year. His first Football League match in control was the League Two encounter between Cheltenham Town and Scunthorpe United at Whaddon Road on 10 August 2004, which finished as a 2–0 away win.First ever League match : soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. Also in that year, he was in charge of the Football Conference play-off final, at Stoke's Britannia Stadium, which saw Shrewsbury beat Aldershot 3–0 on penalties, following a 1–1 scoreline after extra time.Shrewsbury v. Aldershot , Football Conference play-off final, 2004: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
Stroud handled a League One play-off semi-final first leg in 2006League One play-off semi-final first leg, 2006: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. and a League Two play-off semi-final first leg in 2007.League Two play-off semi-final first leg, 2007: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
During the 2006–07 season, Stroud was 'trialled' for the Premier League, being given the match on 17 March 2007 between Middlesbrough and Manchester City at the Riverside Stadium, which City won 2–0. Stroud cautioned three players.Premier League 'trial', Middlesbrough v. Manchester City, 2007: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. On 26 July 2007, a press release from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, which employs Premier League referees full-time, stated that he had been included in the Select Group of 19 referees for the 2007–08 season.Promotion to the Select Group: PGMOL Press release (HTML cached version of a PDF document). Retrieved on 23 March 2008. At the same time, he stepped down from the FIFA list of assistant referees.
Stroud is also currently the Referees' Development Manager for the Hampshire Football Association.Confirming his position as Referees' Development Manager for Hampshire FA: TheFA.com website. Retrieved on 23 March 2008. On 3 January 2012, Stroud became the chief executive of the Bedfordshire Football Association.
On 2 August 2013, Stroud officiated the match between Sheffield United and Notts County, kicking off the 125th year of the Football League.
Stroud has been a Luton Town fan from a young age and therefore, does not officiate any of The Hatters' fixtures.
Stroud retired at the end of the 2023-24 season to take up a role as a coach for the PGMOL
Career statistics SeasonGamesTotal per gameTotal per game2003–048303.7520.252004–05301133.7710.032005–06391393.5690.232006–0738962.5230.082007–08341113.2660.172008–09321103.4460.192009–10271084.00100.372010–11331253.7990.272011–12391213.1060.152012–13391604.10100.262013–14381684.4270.182014–15411834.4670.172015–16451914.24110.242016–17391714.38120.312017–18331344.0670.212018–1929923.1730.102019–20321063.3140.132020–21381062.7920.052021–22331454.3950.152022–23381925.0550.13
Statistics are for all competitions.
References
External links Keith Stroud Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com