A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport. The official tasked with this job may be known, in addition to referee, by a variety of other titles as well (often depending on the sport), including umpire, judge, arbiter, arbitrator, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper or touch judge.

The term referee originated in association football.^{[citation needed]} Originally the team captains would consult with each other in order to resolve any dispute on the pitch. Eventually this role was delegated to an umpire. Each team would bring their own partisan umpire allowing the team captains to concentrate on the game. Later, the referee, a third "neutral" official was added, this referee would be "referred to" if the umpires could not resolve a dispute. The referee did not take his place on the pitch until 1891, when the umpires became linesmen (now assistant referees). Today, in many amateur football matches, each side will still supply their own partisan assistant referees (still commonly called club linesmen) to assist the neutral referee appointed by the governing football association.

Howard Melton Webb, MBE, (born 14 July 1971) is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2005.

Webb is counted amongst the top referees of all time by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), and has refereed a number of notable matches including the FA Cup Final, the FA Community Shield and the final of the Football League Cup, as well as the final of both the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup, being the first person to referee both matches in the same year.

Webb has drawn praise for his authoritative and respected approach to refereeing from football bodies, pundits, colleagues, players, and managers.

Webb was born to Sylvia and Billy Webb and grew up in Rotherham, Yorkshire. His father was also a referee for 35 years.

Webb first took up refereeing in local Rotherham leagues in 1989. In 1993, he progressed to the Northern Counties East League as an assistant referee, becoming a referee for that league two years later.

Martin Atkinson (born 31 March 1971) is an English professional football referee who officiates in the Premier League and for FIFA. He was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, but is now based in nearby Leeds.

Since his first appearance in the Football League as an assistant referee in 1995, Atkinson has refereed a number of notable matches, including the FA Community Shield and the finals of both of the FA Trophy and FA Cup.

Atkinson started his refereeing career at the relatively early age of 16 years old, as the local team did not have a referee to oversee matches. By 1998, he had been promoted to the Football League's list of assistant referees.

This was followed in 2000 by promotion to the Select Group of assistant referees. By December 2002 he was refereeing Football Conference matches, and also refereed the 2003 FA County Youth Cup final.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Atkinson joined the national list of referees. He had the distinction of not sending off any player from the field of play between August 2004 and October 2005.

David Roland Elleray (born 3 September 1954 in Kent), is an English former football referee, who officiated in the Football League, the FA Premier League and for FIFA.

Elleray was educated at Dover Grammar School for Boys where he excelled at a variety of sports and also took up refereeing at the age of 13. He won a scholarship to read geography at Hertford College, Oxford and was a keen rugby and rower. While at university, he was promoted through the Hellenic, Isthmian and Panel Leagues to become a Football League referee in 1983. He remained there until his inclusion on the original Premier League Referees’ List in 1992, and also became a FIFA referee in that year.

Elleray is a career geography teacher and spent over 30 years at Harrow School, where he was head of geography, director of boarding and house master of Druries House before his retirement in 2009. During his time at Harrow, he is noted for controversially reintroducing football in 1977 (which was abolished in 1927) despite the school's well-known rugby tradition. His teaching role entailed time conflicts with his role as a leading referee before his retirement. Elleray stepped down as a FIFA Referee in 1999, having officiated in 78 International matches in 35 different countries. He officiated at Wembley Stadium 13 times but was unable to officiate at the World Cup Finals in France in 1998 due to school commitments.

Monty McCutchen (born February 14, 1966) is a professional basketball referee who has worked in the National Basketball Association. His first season was in 1993. He wears the uniform number 13. He was one of the officials for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.