UEFA Cup clash for assistant ref Gary

By Sean Wallace

Published:

AN ABERDEEN referee is set to run the line at a glamour UEFA Cup tie in Finland.

Full-time firefighter Gary Cheyne will officiate at FC Honka’s first round, second leg clash against Spanish La Liga side Racing Santander.

Tomorrow’s tie takes place at the 6,000 capacity Tapiolan Urheilupuisto stadium in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland.

And it is the latest foreign appointment for the 39-year-old whistler.

Gary said: “The tie is very finely balanced as Santander are only 1-0 up from the first leg.

“Officiating in Finland in a UEFA Cup game is exciting and I cannot wait to get across there.

“Unfortunately it will be freezing over there, much colder than Aberdeen, so I will have to wrap up well.

“That is in real contrast to my time in Slovenia where I officiated at the UEFA U19 European Qualifiers.

“The heat was unbelievable over there, tipping the 100 degree mark.”

Although at 39 he is too old for the FIFA list, Gary can still be awarded high-profile foreign games.

The SPL official has also ran the line in a crunch Under-21 international between Switzerland and Macedonia.

“I fly out to Finland early on Wednesday morning then return home late on Friday night,” he said.

“The next day I have an SPL game, then a referees’ meeting on Sunday.

“Any ideas of refereeing being a part-time hobby are pretty much gone now.

“Sometimes it can be difficult to balance working with the brigade and refereeing.”

Fellow Scot Dougie McDonald will referee the UEFA Cup tie, and Gary is convinced that proves the standing of Scottish refs overseas.

“Scottish referees are very well respected abroad,” he said.

“Unfortunately there have been a few high profile incidents with referees in the SPL this season.

“But we all go out there and do an honest 90 minutes’ work.

“If there is a mistake it is focused on, whereas if a defender makes a mistake it is forgotten for the next game.”