This article is from page 71 of the 2011-07-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 71 JPG
CLARE referee Padraig Sutton will be the man in charge when a tournament involving some of the biggest teams in world football kicks off in Dublin at the weekend.
The Ennis man will referee a game between an Airtricity league XI and Manchester City in the Dublin Super Cup on Saturday.
The two-day tournament, which also involves Inter Milan and Glasgow Celtic, takes place at the Aviva Stadium.
For Sutton the glamour friendly represents a welcome break from the hectic schedule of league games.
Sutton, who started refereeing 13 years ago, has been afforded the opportunity to officiate the game due to a break in the Airtricity league season.
He said, “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Its (the league season) fairly full tilt at the moment. It’s a friendly, a good day out for the family. So yeah, hopefully it goes well”.
It won’t be the first time Sutton has rubbed shoulders with some of the star names in European football.
Last August, he was selected in a group of four Irish referees eligible to take part in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League and Europa League games.
In September, Sutton served as fourth official as one of the match officials for the Champions League meeting between Romanian side CFR Cluj and Swiss outfit FC Basel. Two years ago, the Limerick based Guard was among the match officials for the Europa League meeting be- tween Tottenham Hotspur and Turkish club Famagusta.
An experienced league of Ireland referee, Sutton has also officiated at underage Irish international games.
His involvement in the Dublin Super Cup strengthens the connections between Clare and the high profile pre-season tournament.
Along with sports media firm, Endemol Sports, Ennis man Damien O’Brien is one of the principal organizers of the event through his company Iconic.
Five years ago O’Brien, a former Turnpike Rovers player whose father used to manage Lifford, devised the format for Football Icon – a reality TV show that offers young footballers the chance to earn a professional contract with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.