The English Premier League is the only professional league in the world with referees over 50 still active. "This weekend gave officials outside of the top rated list the opportunity to referee televised games and it was two of the oldest who took charge on Saturday, with Phil Dowd at Tottenham and Mark Halsey at Old Trafford on Sunday. Dowd (photo), celebrated his 50th birthday two weeks ago to join 51-year-old Chris Foy and Halsey, 51, in the over-fifties gang who are defying the years to continue refereeing at the very top level. There used to be a sensible retirement age of 48, but European law was cited to end the enforced retirement under the national retirement age. Now, as long as they pass the fitness test and achieve high enough marks from the assessors each game, they can continue", said former World Cup referee Graham Poll. According to the FIFA rules and regulations, the mandatory retirement age for international referees is 45. Source: Daily Mail
