Under the old retirement age system Anthony Taylor would have been the next referee off the list then followed by Craig Pawson. As Taylor is amongst the elite I'm sure that he will have the chance to have more years remaning on the list than Pawson.
Well done to him though I have a modicum of regret for Rob Jones.
England therefore joins the ranks of those who have worn a FIFA badge as both an AR and a Referee. I guess that can't happen much these days now that the two branches of officiating have a clear division quite early on though I expect there are some well known people from the past. Off the top of my head I can only think of Steve Bennett and possibly Graham Barber.
I believe that John Brooks has the last realistic opportunity of picking up both FIFA badges. Age remains on his side.
As someone unfamiliar with the English system, how is it possible to get both? Don’t you ‘specialise’ at a level far below getting a FIFA badge making a second run up the ladder impossible? (If purely out of time available alone)
Do some referees drop back down the pyramid to become ARs and make their way back up again?
Yes, so John Brooks was an AR in the EPL from 2012 when he was only 22, but at the same time was also refereeing at either L3, L2B or L2A. He then chose specialist refereeing, which meant he stopped doing any games as AR and concentrated on refereeing.
It can't happen now as these days once you have been at L3 for three years you have to choose either refereeing or lining. Which I think makes it impossible that someone will get to FIFA as an assistant and then do it later as a referee, as even if you are promoted in each of those three years so will only get as far as the EFL AR list and can't get FIFA from there.
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