Premier League ref Andre Marriner released by Shrewsbury Town as a schoolboy
Experienced Premier League referee Andre Marriner could have followed a very different pathway in the game – had he made the grade as a goalkeeper at Shrewsbury Town.
The top flight official, from Birmingham, revealed he was a shot-stopper in his younger days and was on the books at Gay Meadow as a schoolboy.
But the dream of a professional playing career wasn't to be for Marriner, who was released by Shrewsbury in the 1980s, while the club played in the old Second Division.
Marriner failed to impress between the sticks on several trials and instead stumbled into refereeing by accident after 'reluctantly' agreeing to stand-in after a Sunday League official failed to show.
The 49-year-old became a Football League referee in 2003 and first oversaw a game in England's top division in November 2004 after rising through the system.
"I always wanted to play the game at a professional level," Marriner told That Peter Crouch Podcast.
"I was at Shrewsbury on schoolboy forms but got released from there and had various trials for other teams but never made the grade.
"I started by chance really. I turned up on a Sunday morning to watch a game in view of playing in goal.
"The referee hadn't turned up and I reluctantly agreed to referee the game and fully enjoyed the experience.
"I went home, told my dad and he enrolled me on a referees' course the following week."
Marriner, who supports Aston Villa where his two children are season ticket holders, does not think his goalkeeping career helped him transition to the man in the middle.
"I think refereeing is more of a midfield area in terms of reading and watching the game and trying to stay out the way of being hit and players' space," he added.
"You've got to be crazy to be a goalkeeper and you've probably got to be crazy to be a referee."
The referee, who was in charge of the FA Cup final in 2013, admitted his officiating idol was Italian legend Pierluigi Collina.
Marriner has called the shots in more than 300 top flight fixtures as well as seven Champions League games and World Cup qualifiers.
He last refereed his former club in August 2006 as Shrewsbury went down to a 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers.
He oversaw Telford United in his first season as a referee, a lively 2-2 draw in the Conference at Farnborough in March 2003.
