Jim McCluskey

James McCluskey (1 November 1950 – 14 November 2013)^[1] was a Scottish football player and referee, who officiated in the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup and the final of UEFA Women's Euro 1991.^[1]

Career

A former player in the early 1970s before becoming an official,^[1] he refereed the 1990 Scottish League Cup final, an Old Firm fixture in which Rangers defeated Celtic 2–1 at Hampden Park (leading a group of Celtic supporters to have him followed by a private investigator to uncover any bias towards their rivals),^[1]^[2] the 1993 Scottish Cup final where Rangers beat Aberdeen 2–1 at Celtic Park,^[3] the 1993 Scottish League Cup final at Celtic Park in which Rangers overcame Hibernian 2–1, and the 1994 Scottish League Cup final won on penalties by Raith Rovers over Celtic at Ibrox Stadium. With the national cup finals being spread around those locations during the 1990s due to reconstruction work, this gave McCluskey the unique distinction of having refereed such matches at all three venues.^[1]

McCluskey also oversaw the second leg of the 1994 UEFA Cup final between Inter Milan and Casino Salzburg,^[1]^[4] and altogether took charge of more than 50 FIFA and UEFA matches.^[1]^[2]

To celebrate his career, the Scottish Football Association awarded McCluskey a Scottish Cup final game for his swansong.^[2] He presided over the 2000 Scottish Cup final, in which Rangers beat Aberdeen 4–0 at Hampden.^[1]

McCluskey, who worked as a surveyor in Ayrshire in addition to refereeing, died on 14 November 2013 in Ayr, aged 63.^[1]^[5]^[6]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Robert McElroy (23 November 2013). "Jim McCluskey". The Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2018 – via PressReader.
^ ^a ^b ^c Football: I reffed Brazil and Inter but Alloa v Caley tops the lot Daily Record, 27 May 2000
^ McKinney, David (31 May 1993). "Scottish up Final: Rangers continue to reign supreme". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
^ Vallance, Matt (18 November 2013). "Obituary: James "Jim" McCluskey, football referee and surveyor". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
^ "Jim McCluskey: Tributes to late Scottish referee". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^ "Scottish FA pays tribute to Jim McCluskey". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.