After refereeing hundreds of soccer matches for more than three decades, a Ballinasloe official has decided to call it a day . . . at the sporting age of 78.

And for Shamie Fogarty from Hymany Park it was a rewarding career being the man in the middle as well as being one of the driving forces in promoting soccer in Ballinasloe.

“It was time to call it a day,” he told The Connacht Tribune as he explained that he first took up the whistle back in 1990 having played soccer himself when he was younger and also Gaelic football.

A few health issues are the main reason why he has decided to quit refereeing now – although he still likes to keep fit and jogs on a regular basis.

Even up to last weekend he was still getting requests to referee matches from clubs who were not aware of him retiring and he was disappointed to let them down.

When he first started refereeing, it was with the Roscommon and District League where he spent many years before officiating at matches across the Midlands.

At one stage during his career, he was coaxed to referee some GAA matches – but he was not that keen in pursuing this avenue.

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