- Josh Schneider-Weiler
Interview with Mark Halsey: Behind the Whistle
Updated: Jun 8, 2019
We are joined by ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey.

Halsey was a Premier League referee from 1999 to 2013 and was a FIFA listed referee from 2000 til 2006. He's been he's been involved in many big games notably:
the 2002 FA Cup between Arsenal and Chelsea as the 4th official
the head referee in the 2008 League Cup final between Tottenham and Chelsea
He also writes a weekly column in The Sun newspaper.
In this episode I really just wanted to go inside the mindset of an official: how do they handle the abuse from players, the pressure of making important calls, what does it feel like to make a mistake and hurt a team. My desire was to humanize referees as we can really hate them.
If you want to reach out to Mark, his Twitter handle is @RefereeHalsey. Mark is also an ambassador for the Steve Prescott Foundation, which aims to raise money for cancer research. If you'd like to learn more about that you visit their website https://www.steveprescottfoundation.co.uk/home
Listen Here
Timeline
4:53 His pregame routine
8:15 In-game mindset
12:32 His philosophy towards refereeing
15:03 Handling dissent and abuse
17:22 Being mentally strong
20:00 Making a mistake
23:50 How he became a referee
31:25 Why he's given less cards as he's refereed longer
38:00 Getting cancer
46:12 Biggest mistake of his career
52:13 If he could change one law