FIFA World Cup call for Northampton assistant referee Stuart Burt

Burt is a key cog in the two English refereeing 'squads' that have made the trip to the tournament that starts this Sunday when the host nation take on Ecuador.

A Premier League assistant for the past 14 years, Burt has been on the FIFA list for the past 11 seasons, and has travelled to the World Cup to be part of referee Michael Oliver's officiating team.

Oliver is one of two English referees selected for the tournament, the other being Anthony Taylor, and he takes with him his regular partners for both Premier League and European and international matches, Burt and Simon Bennett.

The trio work almost exclusively together, and have done for a few seasons now.

They are no strangers to big occasions, and took charge of three matches in the Euro 2020 tournament last summer, but officiating at the World Cup is going to be the ultimate and a really proud moment for Burt, who has proven himself to be one of the top flagmen in the Premier League, and beyond.

Burt, whose dad Rodney was also a referee, hails from Kingsthorpe and first qualified as a referee at the tender age of 16, first taking charge of matches in the local John Henry Youth League.

He progressed through the local parks leagues and then senior levels at a quick rate, and by the time he was 25 he was refereeing in the Southern League, and also running the line in the National League, or the Conference as it was known then.

A year later he was an assistant in the Football League, before he was promoted to what was called the 'Panel List of Referees', which qualified him to run the line in the Premier League.

A job he did so well that he was soon selected to be on the FIFA list of assistant referees.

It was clear that Burt was excelling as an assistant, and it was at this time he decided to throw his all into running the line, and give up being the man in the middle.

It is a decision that has paid great dividends.

Burt has to date been assistant at more than 400 Premier League and 160-plus matches away from the domestic scene, the majority of them with Oliver in charge.

He has ran the line in two FA Cup Finals (2012 & 2022), two League Cup Finals (2013 & 2017) and also two UEFA Super Cup Finals (2014 & 2022), and he is about to make his debut in the biggest competition in world football.

Burt has already been in Qatar for 10 days, with all the officials in the tournament having travelled over early to get acclimatised, and take on board exactly what is expected of them from the FIFA bosses.

It means he hasn't ran the line since Arsenal's 1-0 win at Chelsea on November 6, and he will now be waiting to discover which game, or games, Oliver and he will be officiating in over the course of the next four weeks.

Oliver, along with Burt and Bennett, are one of 36 refereeing teams that have been selected to officiate in the group stages of the World Cup, during which time there will be 48 matches played.

Those who impress will then be kept on to officiate during the knockout stages.

The Northants Football Association posted a release on their website congratulating Burt on his World Cup call, and it read: "We’re all very proud of Stuart’s achievements to date.

"We wish him all the very best as he embarks on his journey in Qatar. All the best Stu!"