When Howard Webb takes over as PGMOL chief executive in 2022 he urged former players to be “pioneers” and turn to umpiring after retirement.
Just 16 months later, that pioneer appears to be 2006 World Cup star Chris Birchall, who is picking up the whistle with the aim of becoming one of a select few to make the transition from player to referee.
Birchall recently completed the Staffordshire FA refereeing course – the only former player in the association – and made his official debut at a recent Port Vale academy match.
“Now I have a lot more respect for the decision-making and how difficult it is – knowing your positioning and where to go so as not to disrupt the play,” the 39-year-old told Mail Sport.
To an entire generation of soccer-mad Trinidadians, Birchall is a hero who helped lead the Caribbean island nation to its first-ever FIFA World Cup final.
Chris Birchall, playing for Trinidad and Tobago in their World Cup debut in 2006, tackles England’s Frank Lampard as the Three Lions beat the Soca Warriors 2-0 in Nuremberg.
Birchall also played for the Los Angeles Galaxy alongside England star David Beckham.
The Staffordshire-born midfielder, nicknamed “Me Mum” by Trinidad fans for her typically northern response to a question about why she was eligible to play for her country, scored the Caribbean side’s equaliser with a powerful shot from 35 yards in the first leg of the 2006 qualifying play-off against Bahrain.
Thanks to this goal, the Soca Warriors qualified for the 2006 World Cup, playing in the same group as Sweden, Paraguay and England’s golden generation.
Playing against Gerrard, Lampard and Owen wasn’t Birchall’s only exposure to football’s greats: three years later, he played alongside David Beckham at the LA Galaxy, rather than against him.
He played locally in all three divisions of the Football League for his hometown club Port Vale as well as Coventry City and Brighton.
As he was nearing the end of his colourful playing career, the idea of becoming an umpire was brewing beneath the surface.
“Umpires have always been under the radar. I had a lot of respect for them and thought I could do it,” he says.
Birchall, then playing for Port Vale, lunged at Wayne Rooney during a group stage match at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The midfielder (right) celebrates scoring a vital goal in the playoff match against Bahrain
If the former midfielder is promoted to a referee role, he will join a host of famous former Football League players who have made the transition from player to referee.
He played a total of 44 times for Trinidad and Tobago but was eligible because his mother was born there.
Only one other player – former Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Chesterfield defender Steve Baines – has made the switch from player to EFL referee, but that was 30 years ago.
After a unique career and one of the most puzzling resumes in football, Birchall seems intent on continuing down the path less taken, but he understands why footballers don’t tend to move into refereeing.
“There’s no financial reward at the start,” says Birchall, who currently referees in the Staffordshire area and earns £40 a game.
“When you start your journey, you’ll either make enough money from your playing career or you’ll need a job that comes with it.”
“For me it’s a challenge and if I can be a catalyst for former players then that’s progress.”
Birchall believes his illustrious playing career, and the dark arts he picked up along the way, will help him succeed as a manager.
During an international match in 2006, Birchall and his adopted country’s most famous star, Dwight Yorke
“I can tell if players are trying to trick the umpire. I used to do it myself so I know what they’re doing,” Birchall laughs.
“I’m just trying to use my experience. I think it’s important to build trust with the players. That’s what I want to do. I want to be a humble, smiling, truly empathetic referee.”
Refereeing wasn’t Birchall’s initial post-retirement goal – he graduated from Staffordshire University in 2016 with a degree in professional sports writing and broadcasting, but has since found commentary work dwindling.
“Opportunities were very hard to come by. I got bits and pieces on TalkSPORT and Sky Sports News but it was very little.”
“To make a living from it, you need to be able to earn a full-time job, which I couldn’t do.”
Birchall is once again working his way up the professional ladder, a journey he likens to the struggles he faced when he started out as a footballer.
“It’s like being in non-league football – you have to have a track record to progress.”
He played alongside Beckham at the LA Galaxy from 2009 to 2011 and now works as a referee.
“For me it’s about playing my game, having fun and applying my knowledge as a player to officiating.”
After a decline in retirement and a difficult career as a commentator, Birchall turned to refereeing and began a new life.
“The timing is right. I hope that the opportunity will come and that I can move forward if I have the ability. It all depends on ability. You can wish for anything, but you need the ability to achieve it.”
If he manages to get anywhere close to a star-studded football career, he will undoubtedly join a rare list of people who have both played and refereed in the professional game.