QA: Jeff Winter

Sir Alex Ferguson once said of you: “Back to your usual self, Jeff, f**king useless.” Have you got a Christmas card from him this year?

I have the utmost respect for Fergie and what he has achieved but we never saw eye to eye. He was trying to do his job, which was to fight for Manchester United, and I was trying to do mine, which was to referee. I haven’t spoken to him for years.

Who was harder, Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira?

They both had their moments but I always seemed to get on well with the troublemakers. The bottom line was that I always tried to make sure that they were both on the pitch when the game finished. It wasn’t easy. There were always flashpoints when they crossed paths.

What was the hardest game you refereed?

Millwall v West Ham in 2004 was pretty tasty. That game broke the record for the number of policemen at a match, which was lucky because I awarded three penalties and sent the West Ham ’keeper off. I was just doing my job, I wasn’t out there trying to be popular. Anyway, I’m over six foot and I’m from the North East so I can look after myself.

Weren’t you in a Middlesbrough “firm” when you were growing up?

Yes, but in the Sixties and Seventies that was the norm. There’s no point sweeping it under the carpet, I ran with the crowd but I never got a criminal record. In those days there was no segregation and no policemen at games and there was always a reception committee waiting for you when you got to an away game.

“He drives me nuts. An absolute prat — and you can print that.” What’s Steve Bruce got against you?

I don’t know. He seems to think that only ex-players and managers should be working in the media. I think that everyone is entitled to a view and that includes former referees.

Do you ever miss the sound of your whistle on Saturday afternoons?

Nothing beats being on the pitch but I love the life I’ve got now. I work full-time in the media, I’ve got my own radio shows on TFM in Middlesbrough and I wrote my autobiography, Who’s The B*****d in the Black.

And you don’t have 50,000 fans chanting that you play with yourself every weekend?

The abuse never worried me. When I was out in the middle all I could hear was a wall of noise. I knew it wasn’t personal.

Interview by Kaveh Solhekol

Comments

[Neil Hughes]

It was personal Jeff, you were awful.