A FORMER Denton primary school teacher has received a prestigious appointment in his role as a match official.
Matt Donohue, who used to teach at Greswell Primary, will be the Video Assistant Referee for this year’s Subway Women’s League Cup final.
The 36-year-old oversaw Greswell’s sport provision during his eight years at the Percy Road school, before becoming a full-time referee in 2019 officiating primarily in the Championship.
He even made his Premier League debut in the middle last season, when taking charge of an eventful match between Bournemouth and Brentford.
This season, Donohue has refereed 22 matches in all competitions to date – dishing out 86 yellow cards, sending off four players and awarding four penalties.
He has also been a regular Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Premier League this term – as part of the refereeing body PGMOL’s dedicated training programme to develop future VARs and enhance VAR performance.
Donohue most recently fulfilled the role during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Southampton at Anfield last weekend.
On Saturday, March 15, he will operate the technology for the final between Chelsea and Manchester City, taking place at Derby County’s Pride Park stadium.
The Manchester FA official will be assisted by Constantine Hatzidakis, as they provide support to referee Emily Heaslip and her team of on-field officials for the 12:15 GMT kick-off.
Donohue – who began his refereeing journey as an assistant referee at the age of 14 – has made over 200 appearances as a referee in the professional game.