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willie young - AFTER DINNER SPEAKER

international football referee • LAWYER

Willie Young, from Girvan in Ayrshire, is one of Scotland’s most experienced and respected former football referees. He enjoyed a distinguished 15-season career as a Class One Scottish Football Association official and has remained closely involved in the game since retiring. He has also served on UEFA’s Referee Observers Panel, continuing his association with top-level football.

During his time in the middle, Willie officiated more than 500 senior matches in Scotland, earning appointments to many of the game’s biggest occasions. These included the Scottish Cup Final, League Cup Final, Bells Challenge Cup Final and Scottish Women’s FA Cup Final. A former FIFA-listed referee, he also handled 71 European and international fixtures across 27 countries.

Away from football, Willie built a successful legal career and is widely regarded as an outstanding after-dinner speaker. Warm, witty and highly engaging, he offers audiences a rare insight into the pressures, personalities and controversies of elite refereeing, delivered with humour and first-hand authority.

Willie has entertained at sporting dinners, corporate events and Burns Suppers throughout the UK and overseas, from Cumnock to Cairo, and from Kenya to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Among his many stories is the claim of being one of the few referees ever to send off Ally McCoist — although that happened in the Robert Duvall film A Shot at Glory.