This season Nottingham Forest Football Club won’t be the only ones to brace the Premier League. We are delighted to announce that Steve Meredith has been promoted to the Premier League as an Assistant Referee.

This is a fantastic achievement, and it is thoroughly deserved. Those that know Steve, will know he has been working incredibly hard to reach the heights of the Premier League alongside his work within the county by being an active member on the referees committee and treasurer of the Mansfield Referee Society. 

We managed to catch up with Steve ahead of his preseason activities and ask him a few questions. 

What are you most looking forward to ahead of the Premier League season? 

The challenge of operating in the best league in the world, being able to test myself against some of the best players in the world, and being able to work with some of the best referees in the world. I always like to push myself to learn and develop and what better way to do it. Also, the challenge of working with VAR on a regular basis when I’ve been so used to doing games without it for so long.

What advice do you have for any aspiring referees? 

 I’d always say, work hard, push yourself to be the best referee that you can, whilst soaking up as much information and experience from other officials that’s available, but the main thing for me, relax and enjoy every game.  Refereeing is supposed to be a hobby, and I think at times we forget that. We put ourselves under so much pressure, that we forget we’re doing something we love, and enjoy.  I’d also say be patient.  Just because you don’t get promoted every season, doesn’t mean to say you’re not good enough. Just reset and go again next season!

 Liam Brown, Referee Development Officer, has said “We are absolutely delighted to see Steve achieve promotion to the Premier League. Knowing Steve, and I’m sure many others will agree, he thoroughly deserves this promotion, and a lot of hard work and dedication has been put in by Steve and he now gets the reward of officiating in one the of the best leagues in the world. As a county we are thrilled to have officials at all levels of the game and to have role models for our young and aspiring referees to look up too.”

 We would like to wish Steve all the best for next season, and we look forward to seeing you on the big screen.