Doyle appointed to UEFA U17 Championship Finals
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FAI Elite Referee Neil Doyle has been chosen by UEFA to referee at the European U17 Championship Finals in Slovakia from May 5 to 17.
Doyle, who is a 34-year-old schoolteacher from Swords, has been refereeing since 1995 and was a graduate of the FAI’s first School of Excellence for Referees. He has been a member of the National League panel since 2001 and was appointed to the FIFA list in 2011.
Last year he refereed the FAI Ford Cup Final between Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic at the Aviva Stadium and also took charge of the FIFA World Cup qualifier between San Marino and Montenegro as well as officiating at a UEFA U19 European Championship mini-tournament in Albania.
He started off in the South Dublin Schoolboys League and after graduating from the School of Excellence in 2000 he spent a year in the AUL before joining the National League panel. For the first few years he ran the line in the First Division and refereed in the U21 League before taking charge of games in the First Division in 2003 and then the Premier Division from 2004. His steady progress continued and shortly after receiving his FIFA badge at the beginning of 2011 he did his first international assignment, an U21 friendly between Wales and Northern Ireland.
John Ward, Head of the FAI’s Elite Referees Committee, said Doyle’s appointment was another step in his progression up the refereeing ladder. “This appointment is well deserved as Neil has worked hard over the last number of years and it is an indication of the progress he is making as an Elite Referee.”
This is the sixth time in the past two years that a member of the FAI Elite Referee panel has been appointed to a UEFA finals tournament. Damien McGraith was part of the refereeing team at the European U21 Championships in 2011 and was an assistant referee for the final. He was also a reserve assistant at Euro 2012 last summer. Mark Gavin was an assistant at the European U17 Championships last year and Michelle O’Neill was an assistant at the European Women’s U19 Championship Finals and was involved in the final. Rhona Daly has been appointed as a Fourth Official for the European Women’s Championship in Sweden in July,
In addition to hosts Slovakia, the team taking part are Croatia, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine and Austria, who pipped Ireland for a place in the Finals.
