Three young members of the Barnsley and District Referees' Association officiated an England under 15s friendly on Saturday.
Callum Gough, 19, from Pogmoor, was one of nine chosen to referee England matches out of hundreds of young officials from around the country who attended a recent conference at the Football Association's headquarters St George's Park in Burton-On-Trent.
The linesmen for the England under 15s game – in which they beat Leicester under 16s 7-1 at Loughborough University – were Gough's fellow Barnsley association members Sam Bowen, from Huddersfield, and Will Cavanagh from Stocksbridge.
"I never thought I would be refereeing an England team," said Gough, who has been officiating for three years.
"The game went really well and it was good to see some England stars of the future."
Gough, who is studying for a sports coaching degree at university, currently referees in the Sheffield and District County Senior League and is an assistant referee in the Northern Counties East League Division One. He ran the line in Athersley Recreation's 6-3 success over Barnsley rivals Shaw Lane Aquaforce in the Sheffield Senior Cup last season.
"I am not allowed to do Worsbrough Bridge games because it is too close to my house but I have done games with other Barnsley teams. The next stage will be to become a referee in the Northern Counties East League Division One then keep making my way up the leagues. I want to go all the way to the top in refereeing."
Darren England and Scott Ledger, both from Barnsley, have run the line in the Premier League and Gough would like to follow in their footsteps.
Gough said: "Scott and Darren are good people to look up to. They both got really far in the game at a young age. "There are also a lot of other good young referees coming through in the Barnsley area."
