Billy Thompson (referee)
British rugby league referee (1937–2021)
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William Henry Thompson MBE (21 September 1933 – February 2021) was a British rugby league referee. He refereed 17 Test matches, including the World Cup final in 1977. He also refereed three Challenge Cup Finals.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Henry Thompson | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 September 1933 Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | February 2021 (aged 87) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Refereeing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thompson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1985 Birthday Honours for services to rugby league.[2]
Biography
Born in Huddersfield, Thompson was an aspiring footballer in his younger years, and was on the books at Gillingham, but failed to make the grade.[3] He became a referee, and was added to the Rugby Football League's Grade One referee's list during the 1967–68 season.[4]
He took charge of his first Challenge Cup final in 1971, and became the first referee to send off a player in a Challenge Cup final when he dismissed Syd Hynes for an alleged headbutt on Alex Murphy.[5]
In 1980, he refereed the inaugural State of Origin game between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.[6]
His final game as a referee was the 1984 Challenge Cup final, after which he was forced to retire, aged 50.[4]
Death
His death was announced in February 2021, at the age of 87.[7]