Bill Harrigan

Bill Harrigan (born 24 May 1960 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league football referee, and former head of refereeing for the National Rugby League. Unusually for a sports official, in his long career he was accorded the same profile as some of the top players he refereed. A policeman off-field before he resigned to concentrate on rugby league, he is widely recognised as one of Australia's greatest sports umpires. He retired with the record for most State of Origin matches officiated.

Early life William James "Bill" Harrigan was born in 1960 in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales.

Rugby League career Harrigan refereed his first game in 1977. In 1985 he refereed his first New South Wales Rugby League premiership match, between Cronulla and Western Suburbs.

Defamation action In July 2001 Harrigan successfully sued Australian radio broadcaster Alan Jones for defamatory remarks made by Jones during a 1998 interview, resulting in an award of $90,000.

Post-retirement After retiring from rugby league refereeing, Harrigan was a referee in Gladiators.