The authoritative Mark Halsey is a former professional football referee, who primarily officiated in the Premier League between 1999 and 2013. He was on the league’s list of Select Group Referees from its creation in 2001 until his retirement. He now works as a pundit for BT Sport, and writes a regular column for the online magazine, caughtoffside.com.

Born and raised in Welwyn Garden City, Halsey originally played non-league football as a goalkeeper. His teams included Cambridge City, Hertford Town, Barnet, and St Albans City. He started refereeing in 1989 and was a National List referee for the Football League from the mid-1990s until 1999. He was then promoted to officiate in the Premier League. In 2000 he was added to the FIFA list of referees. Over his illustrious career he has officiated the FA Cup Final, the FA Community Shield, and the League Cup Final. He briefly retired from refereeing when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. But after successfully beating the disease, he returned to officiating in 2010. He finally retired from the game at the end of the 2012-13 season. He then joined BT Sport as a pundit, providing analysis of refereeing decisions during matches.

Halsey regularly connects with his legions of followers and fans through Twitter, posting pictures and videos about his life around football. He is also available for that personalised shout-out through the Cameo platform.