Philip J. JoslinMiddle initial : the Football League official website. Retrieved 23 March 2008. (born 23 March 1959,Profile : the Football League official website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. Newark-on-Trent, NottinghamshireHome town confirmation and 2008 FL Trophy Final appointment: Grimsby Telegraph website. Retrieved 19 March 2008.) is an English association football referee who operates in the Football League. In addition, he has previously held the position of assistant referee for both the Premier League and FIFA, and also fulfilled that role in the 1998 FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Career Joslin first took up the whistle in 1979, officiating in leagues local to his home town, eventually being made an assistant referee in the Football League in 1992. His promotion to the Premier League assistant referees' list came in 1995, perhaps unusually, as this happened before he had been appointed to referee in the Football League. In 1998, he was an assistant referee for Paul Durkin in the FA Cup Final at Wembley on 16 May 1998, when Arsenal defeated Newcastle 2–0.Assistant referee, FA Cup Final 1998 : soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
His promotion to the FIFA list of assistant referees also came in 1995, and he was included as one of the English team of officials at Euro 96.
The step up to Football League referee came in 1999, with his first game being the Third Division tie on 7 August 1999 between Halifax and Darlington at The Shay, when the home side lost 1–0 to a Marco Gabbiadini goal.First ever Football League match, Halifax v. Darlington, 1999: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. On 18 March 2000, he took charge of a semi-final, first leg, in the FA Vase between Vauxhall Motors and Chippenham, which finished 0–0.FA Vase semi-final first leg, Vauxhall Motors v. Chippenham, 2000: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
He was congratulated on his performance during a First Division match, between Ipswich Town and Burnley on 22 October 2002, which ended as a 2–2 draw.Ipswich v. Burnley, First Division, 2002: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 20 March 2008. Burnley's assistant manager Sam Ellis said: "We had a word with him after the game and praised him for his part in a match of such quality. The ref let the game flow, decided against using yellow cards and he certainly helped it as a spectacle"."The ref deserves some praise for once!", Ipswich v. Burnley, 2002: from an article at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph website. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
In 2004, he received praise from Darlington's manager, David Hodgson, after reviewing a decision made during their FA Cup first round tie at home to Yeovil Town on 13 November 2004.Darlington v. Yeovil , FA Cup, 2004: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. "Joslin ... admitted he was wrong to send [Brian] Close off in the closing stages", and rescinded the red card. Hodgson said: "It's not often that a referee will admit he is in the wrong but he has and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that. He has taken it upon himself to ring me and ask me what I saw. I told him and he agreed that he'd made a mistake.""Close case is reopened and big defender is in the clear", red card rescinded, Darlington v. Yeovil: from an article at the Northern Echo website. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
He was an assistant referee for only the second match to be played at the "new" Wembley Stadium, as England under-16s played Spain under-16sCareer detail, plus FA Young Referees' Conference, 2007: Bedfordshire FA website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. on 28 April 2007 in front of 28,210 people, England winning 1–0.England under-16 v. Spain under-16, second "new" Wembley match, as assistant referee: EnglandFootballOnline.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
On 13 March 2008, it was announced that Phil Joslin would be taking charge of the Football League Trophy Final at Wembley on 30 March 2008. The participating teams are Grimsby Town and MK Dons.
Joslin has never refereed a Premier League match, despite the number of years he has been at the higher levels of refereeing.Retirement due in 2008 : Clarets-Mad.co.uk website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. He has, however, operated as fourth official in the Premiership, such as during the Birmingham versus Liverpool match at St. Andrew's on 12 February 2005,Birmingham 2 Liverpool 0, Premiership, as fourth official, 2005: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. for Howard Webb,Fourth official , first example game - Birmingham v. Liverpool, 2005: YNWA.tv website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. and the Liverpool versus Middlesbrough encounter at Anfield on 18 April 2007,Liverpool 2 Middlesbrough 0, Premiership, as fourth official, 2007: soccerbase.com website. Retrieved 20 March 2008. for Graham Poll.Fourth official , second example game - Liverpool v. Middlesbrough, 2007: YNWA.tv website. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
Through affiliation, he was the County Referees Officer for the Derbyshire County Football Association (rather than Nottinghamshire) until 2008, when he became Referee Development Officer for the Lincolnshire Football Association. He holds a Level 3 FA Referees Coaching qualification,FA Level 3 Referees' Coach: cached version of a PDF file at TheFA.com website. Retrieved 19 March 2008. and was a tutorial participant in the FA Young Referees' Conference at Staverton Park, Daventry, Northants, on 31 May 2007.
Phil has now taken up position as one of the new Referee Development Officers at Lincolnshire FA.
References
External links Phil Joslin Referee Statistics at Soccerbase.com