Peter Johnson

Peter Thomas Johnson became a soccer referee in his native England, where he worked in the tough English League. He emigrated to Canada in 1969 and became one of the top officials in his adopted land. He was a carpenter and joiner by training and, later, a school teacher. He also became a referee instructor, and took positions on the executive of various football bodies.

In 1971 Johnson suffered a hairline fracture and needed 12 stitches to close a gash to his forehead when struck by a chair thrown by an irate fan. About 200 fans stormed the pitch at the “Autostade” in Montréal after the Rochester Lancers scored to go ahead 4-0 in a North American Soccer League (NASL) match against the home team. A school teacher living in Windsor, Ontario, at the time, Johnson returned to Montréal five years later as a linesman for the 1976 Olympics where he also had the honour of running the line in the gold medal match between East Germany and Poland.

Johnson refereed 11 international matches in his career, including that of the final round of the CONCACAF qualification for the Montréal Olympics between Mexico and Guatemala. He also officiated in the Guatemala-Panama match in the CONCACAF qualifier for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Johnson’s career as a football referee was also notable for once booking Pelé, showing the Brazilian legend a yellow card in a 1976 NASL match in Tampa, Florida. After his sporting career, Johnson opened an antique shop and also served as president of the local lawn bowling club in Burlington, Ontario.