Outgoing Football West referees boss Eddie Lennie reminisces on unforgettable first visit to Geraldton

Eddie Lennie laughed as he recalled putting his hand up for a Geraldton game, sporting a tie and blazer on the bus trip — and later being left alone in a local restaurant as a team tried to do a “runner”. Lennie arrived in Perth from his native Glasgow at the end of 1991, and months later was refereeing a La Fiamma-hosted Cup match. “It was the start of the season, we were at a meeting in Perth and I had no idea where Geraldton was when I put my hand up to ref there,” Lennie said. “Everybody else just looked at me, laughing. “I caught a school bus up with the team. They were in tracksuits. I was dressed to the nines.” He named the southern suburbs club but we won’t, for reasons which will become obvious. Such was verified by La Fiamma stalwart Mark Gray. “I remember it like yesterday,” Gray said. “This bloke got off a bus suited up to the hilt. I thought ‘he is either a tosser or a top ref (referee)’. “It wasn’t long before I knew what he was. My brother was in an elbow incident with an opponent. Eddie didn’t seem to be looking but just told my brother: ‘Next time you do that, you’re in the showers’. “He let the game flow, was a very good ref . . . and he was a good dresser.” The game went well for Lennie; not so dinner. “I had dinner with the team and then one by one they disappeared. I was left there. I paid for myself, but wasn’t going to pay for them. The cops were called and tracked them down, they had to pay. I was dead against that behaviour, anywhere.” Lennie went on to become one of the top referees in the country — being the only Australian referee to officiate at an Olympic Games (Atlanta) in 1996 and the FIFA World Cup (France) in 1998. For the past 15 years — until last week, when he was made redundant — he was the head of referees at Football West. “I used to go to Geraldton quite often in that job, but whatever happened wasn’t as newsworthy as my first visit,” Lennie said. “I’m still involved with Football Federation Australia and represent the Asian Football Confederation.” Asked his age, Lennie replied, “I’ve been involved with refereeing for 45 years and I started when I was 15. You work it out.”