English officials to hit PS4 NPL NSW Mens
Overseas talent is nothing new on the fields of New South Wales football, but this week there will be a different kind of elite foreign talent in the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s.
English Premier League referees Stuart Atwell and Peter Bankes will be officiating two of this weekend’s top-tier state games as they continue their tour of Australia, having already visited Melbourne and Canberra.
The duo officiated games in the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria competition last weekend and will be back in action this weekend in Sydney with Atwell handling the fixture between Sutherland Sharks and Blacktown Spartans on Saturday, while Bankes is in charge of the Blacktown City vs APIA Leichhardt Tigers game on Sunday.
Attwell, an events manager from Warwickshire in the United Kingdom, has been refereeing since 1998 and achieved class one status in 2002, since when he has officiated over 250 professional games, including the Premier League and international fixtures.
The 33-year-old has also been lucky enough to take charge at Wembley, where he most recently oversaw the League 1 play-off final earlier this year as Barnsley beat Millwall 3-1 to secure promotion to the Championship.
Bankes started refereeing as a 14-year-old in 1996 and was promoted to the Football League as an assistant referee in 2007.
As an assistant, Bankes was involved in a League 1 play-off final between Huddersfield Town and Peterborough United in 2011, while he also worked in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2012 in a contest between Dynamo Kiev and Feyenoord.
Now, Bankes is set to make the step up from assistant to central referee this year, having taken up a full-time contract as a professional referee as of August 1.
Stuart Attwell
Commenced refereeing 1998
UEFA U19 European Championship Final 2011
FA Trophy Final 2011, 4th Official 2008
League 2 play-off final 2008
League 1 play-off final 2016
Peter Bankes
Commenced refereeing 1996
FA Vase Final 4th Official 2016
Fulltime contract Group 2 2016/17
League 2 Play-off semi-final 2015
AR FA Cup semi-final 2013
AR League 1 play-off final 2011
