Jim McCluskey
Football Referee Born: November 1, 1950; Died: November 14, 2013. JIM McCluskey, who has died at the age of just 63, was one of Europe’s leading referees during the 1990s and was much respected within football circles.
A Lanarkshire boy by birth, he was born in Salsburgh (where his father ran the local garage) in November 1950 and educated at Airdrie Academy where he would meet his future wife Anne.
Whilst studying to be a quantity surveyor, he played junior football with Shotts Bon Accord before turning senior with Airdrieonians in 1970.
A serious knee injury sustained in 1975 meant the end of his playing career – and he turned to refereeing. In business, he was now a qualified quantity surveyor, working with CTCF (Construction Technical & Commercial Facilities).
Promotion and a move to Ayrshire followed and McCluskey swiftly progressed through the refereeing ranks, reaching the Scottish Football Association’s Referees’ List in Season 1980-81.
The Ayrshire Junior ranks proved to be a firm grounding for the young referee – any official who could control games at that level had the potential to go far.
The big matches soon followed – he was a linesman (or assistant referee) for the 1983 Scottish FA Cup Final in which a late Eric Black header ensured a 1-0 win for Aberdeen over Rangers after extra-time. The Dons’ manager – a certain Alex Ferguson - afterwards deployed his infamous hair-dryer treatment in the direction of his own players. Whether any of his ire was directed at the young linesman is unrecorded.
The then chairman of the SFA’s Referee Committee was none other than Jack Mowat, a legendary figure in the annals of Scottish football. He had taken charge of the 1960 European Cup Final at Hampden – and he knew a referee when he saw one. He rated the young up-and-coming McCluskey highly – and promotion to Grade One status followed in season 1984-85.
The fact that the official from Ayrshire had himself played football at senior level was relatively unusual – and increased the respect he earned from the footballers he took charge of, as did his relaxing and understanding manner in dealing with footballers who appreciated his enthusiasm for the game.
He took charge of the 1985 BP Scottish FA Youth Cup Final in which Aberdeen defeated Celtic - and progress was rapid, both domestically and at international level, where he was nominated to the UEFA and FIFA lists in 1987.
Major domestic honours quickly followed – he took charge of the 1990-91 Old Firm Scottish League Cup Final won 2-1 by Rangers and the 1993 Scottish FA Cup Final in which the Ibrox men clinched a domestic treble with another 2-1 success, this time over Aberdeen.
Consecutive League Cup Finals followed in 1993-94 and 1994-95 at Celtic Park and Ibrox stadium respectively, giving McCluskey the notable achievement of taking charge of major domestic finals at all three Glasgow venues. The latter match saw the dramatic penalty shoot-out triumph for Raith Rovers for their first-ever major honour.
At international level ,in the course of his career the Ayrshire referee was appointed to more than 40 games, including England – Brazil at Wembley in Season 1991-92 and Germany – Italy in 1993-94 as well as six European Championship qualifying fixtures.
In 1991, he took charge of the UEFA Women’s Championship Final between West Germany and. Sweden, having earlier also been appointed in 1989 to referee at the UEFA Under-16 Championship Finals and the FIFA Under-16 World Youth Championship Finals.
Perhaps the leading overseas appointment of his career was the UEFA Cup Final of Season 1993-94 between Internazionale Milan and Casino Salzburg.
As with any referee, controversy occasionally reared its ugly head. In 1990, the Celtic Supporters Association hired a private detective to follow the official in an attempt to uncover Rangers sympathies.
He retired as a referee in his fiftieth year, his final game in charge being the 2000 Scottish FA Cup Final in which Rangers beat Aberdeen 4-0. Ironically all three finals in which he had been involved in the national tournament had involved the same two clubs.
A true gentleman on and off the field of play, having hung up his whistle, he remained involved in the game as referee supervisor for his local Ayrshire Association. He was appointed to the Scottish Football association Referee Committee in 2003 and served as a referee observer for both the SFA and UEFA.
Away from football, Jim McCluskey was managing director of CTCF in Stewarton, Ayrshire whilst enjoying the occasional game of golf and squash.
He died in Ayr following a two-year battle against ill health and is survived by his wife Anne, son Scott, daughter Julie and three grand-children.