Craig Pawson

Craig Pawson (born 2 March 1979)

He is based in South Yorkshire and is associated with the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association and the RNIB.

Career

Pawson has been a referee since 1993.

Pawson regularly officiated in the Football League in the 2012–13 season. He appeared 12 times in the Championship as well as making a Wembley appearance, taking charge of the League 2 play-off final between Crewe Alexandra and Cheltenham Town, which saw the former promoted.

His first Premier League appointment came in March 2013 between Swansea City and Newcastle United at the Liberty Stadium with the home side winning 1–0.

Pawson was appointed as fourth official for the FA Cup semi-final in April 2014 between Wigan Athletic and Arsenal at Wembley.

In 2015 Pawson was put on the FIFA International Referees List meaning that he can officiate in international fixtures, as well as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League fixtures as either referee or an additional assistant referee. Pawson became the seventh referee from England on the list.

He was the fourth official for the 2015 Football League Cup Final at Wembley, in which Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0.

Pawson was the fourth official for the 2015 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa on 30 May.

In May 2019 Pawson officiated the Championship playoff semifinal between Derby County and Leeds United. This was considered an especially high-profile game after the Spygate affair earlier in the season for which Leeds were fined £200,000 and severely reprimanded by the EFL. The game was controversial with Pawson awarding Derby a penalty in the second half, before reversing his decision on the advice of his assistant. Leeds went on to win the game 0–1.

Pawson stepped down as a FIFA official at the end of December 2024.