Darren Cann constructed a profession out of judging soccer’s most interesting margins, trusted with the tightest offside calls on the largest phases — from the World Cup and Champions League finals to the Premier League.
Recalling a lighter second from a behind-closed-doors match through the pandemic, he smiles on the reminiscence of a global footballer standing subsequent to the defensive wall at a free-kick for his group.
“The referee said to him, ‘please, you need to be one metre away’,” Cann says. “And the player said, ‘is that because of Covid?’
‘No,’ the referee said. ‘It’s because of the laws of the game.'”
It was considered one of many glimpses right into a facet of soccer we not often hear about – the view from the officers, the place, as modest Cann places it, the gamers are “the most important people”.
He moved quietly by means of greater than 1,000 matches, together with 579 within the Premier League – a tally bettered solely by a handful of the competitors’s most enduring names, together with Gareth Barry, James Milner, Ryan Giggs and Frank Lampard. His consistency earned him respect throughout 20 years on the highest ranges of the sport.
Grasp of the margins
To sharpen judgment, he skilled his eye to work quicker than the sport itself. “I recorded hundreds of football matches and watched them back in twice the speed,” he explains. “The players are moving much faster, the ball’s moving faster. And I try and judge the offsides in fast forward. And if you get good at doing that, when it comes to a game on a Saturday afternoon, everything seems so much slower.”
Preparation was simply as detailed. “I analysed the last 30 set-pieces – attacking and defending for both teams – and for attacking free-kicks as well,” he says. “How teams defend, how they attack – anything that might lead to an offside situation I need to anticipate.”
Understanding the gamers
Cann’s really feel for the sport got here not solely from finding out however from having performed it. He performed youth soccer at Crystal Palace and Norwich Metropolis, lining up alongside Sir Gareth Southgate throughout his Palace days. That have gave him “empathy with players” – an understanding of their instincts and frustrations that helped him when making split-second choices as an official.
Regardless of what some followers would possibly assume, the 56-year-old insists referees are simply as obsessed with their roles. “We really do care about the game,” he says. “We work hard, we train hard, and we do everything we can to get every decision right.”
His ardour prolonged to five-a-side video games as a part of coaching along with his former PGMOL colleagues. “I think Michael Oliver would like me to say he is the best footballer among the referees, so I will! We get together on a regular basis and interestingly, everyone wants to play – no one wants to referee that game.”
The impression of know-how
Cann’s profession spanned the arrival of VAR and, extra lately, semi-automated offside techniques, however his method on the pitch stayed the identical.
“We don’t referee any differently now that we have VAR,” he says. “Our mindset when we go out onto the field is to eradicate the VAR from those 90 minutes by getting our decisions right.”
He welcomes the arrival of semi-automated offsides, particularly the development in pace. “The technology will speed up those checks,” he says. “It’s heading in the right direction – but as always, the aim is still to get every decision correct first time without needing VAR.”
Highlights, exhausting video games and historical past
Recalling recreation No 1 of the 579, Cann’s Premier League debut got here at Upton Park in 2005: West Ham United vs Bolton Wanderers. “I was nervous, but luckily it went well,” he says.
On the different finish of the dimensions, two matches transfer away from the remainder in his reminiscence. In 2010, Cann was a part of the one refereeing group ever appointed to each the Champions League closing and World Cup closing in the identical yr, alongside Howard Webb and Michael Mullarkey.
Cann (proper) officiated with Howard Webb
“They are the pinnacle of a player’s career and also a match official’s career,” he says. “We are immensely proud of that.”
The Champions League closing, the primary performed on a Saturday evening, was a very easy efficiency. “It was one of those rare games where there aren’t really any errors from the referee or either assistant,” he remembers. “There were no wrong offsides, no wrong free-kick or penalty calls. It went perfectly for us.”
The World Cup closing between Spain and the Netherlands was a really totally different take a look at. The match produced 13 yellow playing cards – a document for a closing – and noticed Dutch defender John Heitinga despatched off after receiving two bookings.
“It needed refereeing – and Howard did brilliantly to manage it,” Cann says. “Both teams desperately wanted to win because neither had won a World Cup before. It was probably the hardest two hours of my career, but still an amazing memory.”
Tributes and retirement
When Cann stepped away from the skilled recreation following the latest Manchester Metropolis vs Crystal Palace fixture, the dimensions of appreciation shocked even him. “I’ve had hundreds of messages from respected people in the game – from journalists, commentators, ex-players, ex-managers, as well as lots of people from the refereeing fraternities,” he says. “It’s been really humbling.”
A shock retirement dinner, organised by pal Webb, supplied a second he’ll always remember. “Howard had put together a video montage of people from across football who all sent their best wishes,” Cann explains. “One was Sir Gareth Southgate. He sent me a wonderful video message, which was personal and very humbling to receive.”
From ‘the chase’ of Henry – to Pointless
When it got here to hurry and the wrestle to maintain up with gamers, one stood out. “Thierry Henry. Moving with the ball, past defenders – and sadly past me too,” Cann says with a smile.
Away from soccer, Cann even discovered surprising recognition when he appeared as a contestant on the sport present Pointless. “Richard Osman came over before recording, said he knew what I did for a living, and spoke to me for several minutes. Such a lovely man.”
One remorse and one change
What if Cann might alter one legislation of the sport? “I would only allow the captains to speak to the referee,” he says. “That would send a good message to the grassroots level as well, because sometimes we get situations where players surround the referee. I don’t think that’s a good image for the game. It worked extremely well in the Euros.”
Officiating know-how has modified all through Cann’s profession
As for regrets? Only one and nonetheless vivid. “That was an offside I got wrong in my first season on the Premier League,” he says. “I won’t tell you the two teams because I’ll probably upset some supporters, but I did get it wrong by about half a yard. It was one of those where the forward and defender cross over at the moment the ball’s kicked, and I just called it wrong. That decision still upsets me today.”
The ultimate fall
Regardless of the strain of top-level officiating, Cann was at all times capable of see the humorous facet. In his closing season, he suffered the primary and solely comedy fall of his Premier League profession.
“I got my studs caught in the turf and fell sideways, like Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses,” he says. “It was extremely embarrassing.”
Preserving his stability was often much less of an issue – no less than throughout his pre-match ritual. “I always practised my flag signals before I went out for the match,” he says. “Much to the amusement of my colleagues, I stood in front of a mirror making sure that my flag is perfect – because when you’re giving a throw-in or an offside, the last thing you want to be worrying about is whether the flag is in the correct position.
“The referee surprisingly provides the flags – even at grassroots degree it might be the referee that brings the 2 flags and fingers them to every of the 2 assistants. So once more on the Premier League I do not carry a flag. We simply handed them again in on the finish of the day.”
Cann does, however, have a long-serving practice flag at home – the same one he has used for the past 25 years. That and the earlier talk of David Jason’s character falling through a bar inevitably conjured the image of Trigger’s broom, when the character famously declared: “I’ve maintained it for 20 years. This outdated broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.”
“That was an amazing line,” Cann stated, providing probably the most good of assistant referee puns.
