Walsall centre back fancies life as a ref!
Walsall defender, Andy Butler, has paid out his plans for retirement claiming that he can’t wait to be a Premier League referee, The Express reports.
The 29-year-old is currently trying to lead Walsall into the League One playoffs as the club look to continue a 14 game unbeaten streak this weekend against Bury, but he has spoken of his desire to become a Premier League referee once he has retired.
And he’s already begun his education. He spends his Sunday morning’s running up and down the pitched of the Midlands Combination League dishing out the cards whilst his teammates are sat at home with their feet up. He’s had to start the same way all ref’s do; from the bottom, but he hopes to be able to officiate in the top flight soon.
“I’ve got a wife, two kids, so I’ve got to look after them when I’ve stopped playing,” he says. “I will need a job. Coaching is too crowded, unless your face fits.”
“I’d had operations on both my feet and then I hadn’t got a club. I’d not been paid for five months and I hadn’t got massive savings, so I thought about what I could do? And I thought about being a ref.”
If Butler does manage to referee in the Premier League, he will be the first person to make the switch from professional player to official in this country.
However, having just signed a new two year deal with The Saddlers he will still have time to practice his whistle blowing skills before he hangs up his playing boots.