Ben Williams (referee)

Benjamin Jon Williams (born 14 April 1977), better known as Ben Williams, is a retired Australian football referee.

Ben Williams
Full name Benjamin Jon Williams
Born (1977-04-14) 14 April 1977
Canberra, Australia
Other occupation Physical & outdoor education teacher
Domestic
Years League Role
NSL Assistant referee
2005–2016 A-League Referee
International
Years League Role
2005–2016 FIFA listed Referee
2005–2016 AFC Elite Referee

Refereeing career

Williams officiates in the Asian Champions League (ACL),[1] AFC Cup and in the Australian A-League football competition. He has been a FIFA referee since 2005 and AFC Elite panel referee since 2006.

Williams has been selected to referee at the FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil and is the only Australian referee to be selected.[2]

He was selected to officiate at the 2012 Asian Champions League (ACL) Final in Korea between Ulsan Hyundai and Al Ahli.[3] He has officiated in the AFC Champions League since 2007.

In 2012, he was also selected to officiate 4 matches (2 as referee and 2 as 4th official) at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4] He officiated in the opening Great Britain match at Old Trafford against Senegal in front of approximately 75,000 spectators.[5]

He officiated at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup Turkey,[6] 2010 FIFA Club World Cup and 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Williams debuted in the Hyundai A-League in Round 1, 26 August 2005 and at time of retirement, was the most experienced referee in the A-League. He refereed his 100th[7] match, Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United, at Bluetongue Stadium in March 2012.

On 15 January 2014, FIFA announced that Ben Williams was selected as one of the 25 2014 FIFA World Cup officials. In preparation of the tournament Williams took six months off work to ensure he could focus on his training and preparation.[8] He was the first Australian referee appointed as the referee to a second-round game of a World Cup. He was also one of officials in 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

On 22 July 2016, the Football Federation Australia announced that Williams would retire from refereeing after 22 years on the national panels and 12 years as a FIFA referee. Williams, in total, refereed 161 Hyundai A-League matches and 24 NSL matches throughout his career. He also refereed the 2015 Westfield FFA Cup Final as well as international matches through the AFC and FIFA panels, including becoming the first Australian referee to officiate at a knockout match at a FIFA World Cup in 2014.[9]

A-League Matches

Williams is currently the most experienced A-League referee having refereed 130 matches by the end of the 2013/2014 season.[10]

  • 2005/2006 Season: 16 Matches (Including: 2 Pre-season; Minor Semi-Final 1st Leg)
  • 2006/2007 Season: 12 Matches (Including: 3 Pre-season)
  • 2007/2008 Season: 16 Matches (Including: 3 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg)
  • 2008/2009 Season: 16 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season; Minor Semi-Final 1st Leg)
  • 2009/2010 Season: 21 Matches
  • 2010/2011 Season: 15 Matches
  • 2011/2012 Season: 12 Matches (Including: 100th Match; Grand Final (4th Official))
  • 2012/2013 Season: 12 Matches (Excluding: 1 Pre-season)
  • 2013/2014 Season: 18 Matches (Including: 1 Elimination Final)[11]
  • 2014/2015 Season: 11 Matches (Including: 2 Finals Matches - Elimination Final 2 and Semi Final 2)

International Matches
  • 14-3-2007: Hong Kong – Syria (2nd Stage)
  • 6-6-2007: Vietnam – Indonesia (2nd Stage)
  • 22-8-2007: Korea Republic – Uzbekistan (Final Stage)
  • 12-9-2007: Japan – Qatar (Final Stage)

AFC Cup

AFC Champions League

2008 AFC U-19 Championship
  • 31-10-2008: Saudi Arabia – Iran (Final Round)
  • 2-11-2008: United Arab Emirates – Korea Republic (Final Round)
  • 8-11-2008: China – Uzbekistan (Quarter-final)

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

2010 Asian Games

Guangzhou, China (3–25 November 2010)

  • 8-11-2010: North Korea - South Korea
  • 10-11-2010: Iran - Bahrain
  • 13-11-2010: China - Malaysia
    • In this game he gave 3 Red Cards and 7 Yellow Cards, all the cards were for Malaysia, some of the Red Cards was given for protesting referee's decision. The result was 8-man Malaysians being thrashed 3–0 by the Chinese football team at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.[13]
  • 15-11-2010: Qatar - Uzbekistan (1/8 Final)
  • 23-11-2010: South Korea - UAE (Semi-final)

FIFA Club World Cup

Abu Dhabi, UAE (1–20 December 2010)

2011 AFC Asian Cup

Doha, Qatar (7–29 January 2011)

  • 8-1-2011: Kuwait - China PR Al Gharafa Stadium, Doha (Attendance 7,423)
  • 13-1-2012: Saudi Arabia - Jordan (4th Official) Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan (Attendance 17,349)
  • 17-1-2012: Japan - Saudi Arabia (4th Official) Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan (Attendance 2,022)

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

2012 Men's Football Olympics – Asian Qualifiers
  • 19 June 2011: China PR – Oman Hongkou Football Stadium, Shanghai, China (Attendance: 13,500)[19]

2012 Summer Olympics Football Tournament
  • 26-7-2012: Great Britain - Senegal (First round Group A) Old Trafford, Manchester (4th Official)[20]
  • 29-7-2012: Mexico - Gabon (First round Group B) City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry[21]
  • 1-08-2012: Spain - Morocco (First round Group D) Old Trafford, Manchester[22]
  • 4-08-2012: Mexico - Senegal (Quarter-final) Wembley Football Stadium, London (4th Official)[23]

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup

2014 FIFA World Cup

2015 AFC Asian Cup

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

2016 Kirin Cup
  • 3-6-2016: Denmark - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Semi Finals)
    • This was Williams' third PSO in three years after refereeing in 2015 Asian Cup PSO between Iran - Iraq; and in 2014 FIFA World Cup between Costa Rica - Greece.

Teaching career

During his refereeing career, Williams was a public high school teacher in the Australian Capital Territory, where he has taught at Melba High School, Belconnen High School, and Lyneham High School. In 2020 he was promoted to an executive position at the University of Canberra High School Kaleen where he continues to teach physical education.[28]

Honours
  • 2013 AFC Referee of the Year
  • National Soccer League (NSL) 2002 Assistant Referee of the Year
  • 2008 ACT Sportstar Official of the Year[29]

References
  1. "Ben Williams to officiate ACL final". Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Williams appointed for ACL final". Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  4. "Men's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012 – List of Referees". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  5. "First round Group A – Great Britain vs Senegal – Match Statistics". Official London 2012 Website. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Williams Set For Century". FFA. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  8. "Interview with Ben Williams before 2014 World Cup". Dutch Referee Blog. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Ultimate A-League". Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "2010 FIFA Club World Cup: TP Mazembe vs Pachuca". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  15. "FIFA Club World Cup: TP Mazembe vs SC Internacional". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  16. "FIFA Club World Cup – Pachuca vs Al-Wahda". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  17. "Japan vs Tajikistan". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  18. "Jordan vs Singapore World Cup Qualifier". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  19. "2012 Olympic Football Qualifier – China PR vs Oman". AFC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018.
  20. "London 2012 Olympic Games Football Tournament – Great Britain vs Senegal". London 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  21. "London 2012 Olympic Games Football Tournament – Mexico vs Gabon". London 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  22. "London 2012 Olympic Games Football Tournament – Spain vs Morocco". London 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  23. "London 2012 Olympic Football Tournament – Mexico vs Senegal (Quarter-final)". London 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  24. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. Kaleen, UC High School (1 January 2003). "Staff". www.kaleenhs.act.edu.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  29. "ACT Sportstar – Roll of Honour". ACTSPORT. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
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