Darren Drysdale

Darren Drysdale (born 18 February 1971) is an English football referee from Lincolnshire who officiates in the English Football League, and is a sergeant in the RAF at Waddington.

Career He has been refereeing since 1988, officiating in the Northern Alliance and Northern Premier League. He became an assistant referee for the Football League in 1996, and in 1997 progressed to Conference North referee. and became a FIFA assistant referee in the same year. His first game at Championship level was the 2–0 home win for Leicester City against Gillingham on 22 January 2005.

Drysdale attracted media attention in 2007 after Bradford City's Dean Windass received a five-match ban for swearing at him in the car park after a home game against Brentford on 2 January.

In February 2021, Drysdale was involved in an altercation with Ipswich Town midfielder Alan Judge after Judge was shown a yellow card. Drysdale was subsequently charged with improper conduct by the Football Association and removed as the referee for his next game.