Meet the 93-year-old Sheffield referee who reckons he can teach "soft" World Cup officials a thing or two
Sprightly Frank Foster says he will never blow full-time on his favourite hobby
The world's oldest football referee is still dishing out red and yellow cards AGED 93 - and reckons he can still teach "soft" World Cup officials a thing or two.
Sprightly Frank Foster says he will never blow full-time on his favourite hobby that has seen him take charge of around 5,500 games in 46 years.
He started refereeing in 1980 and still officiates men's, women's and children's games around three times a week for the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA in South Yorks.
Frank joked he is still waiting for his World Cup call-up but says the introduction of the new rules, including countdowns for throw-ins and goal-kicks, has made the game "too complicated".
The great-granddad-of-four also believes modern referees are too soft with players and says they should stamp their authority more in games during the tournament.
Frank, of Sheffield, who turned 93 on Tuesday (June 30), said: "I would love to be a referee at the World Cup.
"I reckon I could deal with the pressure.
"I'm a strict ref, I play by the rules, and the players would respect me for it.
"I wish I was the youngest ref instead of the oldest.
"Maybe when England next get to host it, I'll put my name up for a refereeing spot."
Frank believes the standard of refereeing has been good at the competition so far, but urged officials to be stricter.
He says there is no excuse for not taking action when players surround the referee and try to "intimidate" them to make a decision.
The football-mad pensioner said: "I wouldn't let them surround me at all.
"I would say to the players 'stay where you are' and 'if you move one more inch, I will give you a yellow card'.
"You need to stamp your authority and let them know who is in control."
He also says more bookings need to be made to players who dive or fall over after the "smallest tap" against their body.
Frank said: "Those who go down like they have been shot, well I would just book them."
Frank also doesn’t like VAR and particularly disagrees with the rule about not putting the flag up straight away when a player is offside.
He says it creates "aggression and disappointment"
He said: “I think it spoils the game.
“Sometimes it is only the player's toe which is offside – it is ridiculous.
“When I referee I don’t allow lines people from the clubs as I can’t trust them – if I made a mistake at least it is honest and I can own up to it.”
Frank played football with Bamford FC but had to stop in the early 1950s when he injured his knee - he was paid 10 shillings a game (£15 in 2025).
During his playing career Frank said he was known as a speedster – he would knock the ball past the defender and sprint past them leaving the player behind.
He also served in the RAF as an armourer during the 50s as part of national service – on weekends he used to pay a colleague to do his duty whilst he played.
After his injury Frank decided to take up coaching and refereeing, and passed his referee exam with the Sheffield County FA in October 1980, scoring 98 per cent.
The granddad-of-nine has refereed thousands of players over the years, including England player Tony Currie.
Frank, who also has four children, said: "An ex-Sheffield Wednesday player called John Quinn got together a team called John Quinn's all-stars.
"There was ex-professional players from Chesterfield, Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday and they did charity matches.
"One time, Tony Currie was there so I refereed him which I really enjoyed."
When preparing for a match day Frank says he has a bowl of porridge, cereal, or marmalade on toast to give him energy to last the full match.
He keeps his kit freshly washed making sure it is “neat and tidy” for when he sports it.
Frank also scrubs his black Adidas boots after every game making sure there are “nice and clean” for his next match.
Before a game Frank has told how he speaks to both teams laying down his ground rules.
He said: “I tell them we are here for a good game of footie.
“I also remind them to play to the whistle and the rules.”
Frank says he "never thought" he would still be dishing out red and yellow cards all these years later but thinks that being fit has kept him able to do this.
But he puts his fitness down to the rations he was fed as a teenager during the war, he said it made sure he was eating "healthy food" rather than "sweets and cakes."
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