D'Urso was first promoted to the Football League in 1994; five seasons later he was promoted onto the Premier League list. In 2001, he was nominated for FIFA status, officiating in a full international in May 2004 when the Republic of Ireland played Nigeria.
On 29 January 2000 while refereeing the game between Manchester United and Middlesbrough, D'Urso awarded Middlesbrough a penalty kick when Juninho was tackled by Jaap Stam. Upon awarding the kick, six Manchester United players (Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Ryan Giggs and Denis Irwin) chased D'Urso to object to the decision; the resulting image was freely circulated by the media.[1] D'Urso said of the incident: "It was my first season in the Premier League, my first time refereeing Manchester United and my first time at Old Trafford. With more experience I would have stood my ground. I kept saying 'go away', but the further back I walked the more they walked on. A more experienced referee would not have retreated. But there are no grudges. I've refereed Roy Keane on a number of occasions since without a problem."[2] Several players, notably Keane and Stam, have since voiced their regret of the incident. D'Urso booked Keane for dissent shortly after the incident.
He refereed the 2001 FA Charity Shield.
The Football Association suspended D'Urso for 28 days from 27 August 2004 when he failed to send off Blackburn Rovers captain Barry Ferguson after showing him two yellow cards.[3] D'Urso vowed to carry on with his refereeing career.[4] D'Urso appealed, successfully, against the decision to relegate him from the Select Group, but he was not selected for a single Premiership match after the 2005–06 season.