Bob Valentine

Biographical information

RolesReferee
SexMale
Full nameRobert Bonar "Bob"•Valentine
Used nameBob•Valentine
Born10 May 1939 in Dundee, Scotland (GBR)
NOC Great Britain

Biography

Bob Valentine was a leading referee in the 1980s. He started refereeing in the 1960/61 season, and ten years later took charge of his first Scottish League game as a Class 1 referee. He went on to officiate in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1984 and 1988 UEFA European Championships, and many top European club matches. Valentine also appeared at the 1980 Moskva Olympics, running the line in two matches, and refereeing a further two, including the third-place match between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

Probably the best-known match Valentine refereed was the infamous 1982 World Cup group match between West Germany and Austria, which was one of the worst-ever games to watch. Both teams would go through to the next stage if Austria failed to win, and Germany did not win by more than two goals. Once the Germans went one up after 10 minutes, both teams played at a sedentary pace and just passed the ball around and were happy for the score to remain at 1-0, knowing that they would both progress while Algeria, who had played the previous day, would be eliminated. Amidst calls that the match had been “fixed”, FIFA found that neither team had done anything wrong, other than bore the spectators, and Bob Valentine no doubt. As a result of this one match, all final group games in subsequent World Cups, and other major tournaments, have been played at the same time.

Valentine went on to be one of the linesmen in the epic 1982 World Cup semi-final between France and West Germany, which saw four goals scored in extra time. After the game ended 3-3, the Germans won 5-4 on penalties.

Bob Valentine refereed three Scottish FA Cup Finals, including the 1977 and 1989 Celtic versus Rangers “Old Firm” derbies. The 1989 final was his last senior appearance as a referee; his very last appearance, however, was the following weekend when he took charge of the Juvenile Under-18 cup final between Dee Club and Torry Vics at Dundee. It was a significant finale for Valentine, because he started his refereeing career in Scottish juvenile football.

After retiring as a referee Valentine, who was a compositor for a Dundee newspaper by trade, was appointed a referee supervisor by the Scottish FA. He was also much sought after as an after-dinner speaker.

Referee

Games Sport (Discipline) / Event NOC / Team Phase Unit Role As
1980 Summer Olympics Football (Football) GBR Bob Valentine
Football, Men (Olympic) Match 3/4 Soviet Union — Yugoslavia Referee
Football, Men (Olympic) Match #1 Soviet Union — Venezuela Linesman
Football, Men (Olympic) Match #6 Soviet Union — Cuba Referee
Football, Men (Olympic) Match #4 Colombia — Kuwait Linesman