It's not every day one gets to sit down and talk with world-class soccer/football referees. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with PRO Referees Director of Senior Match Officials, Alan Kelly, and the Chief Refereeing Officer, Joe Fletcher to learn more about how the organization PRO (Professional Referees Organization) works, their roles now, and an inside look at the refereeing process from training to match day and beyond.
Alan Kelly, born in Cork, Ireland is the Director of Senior Match Officials at PRO. His decorated career includes officiating over 350 matches in the League of Ireland Premier Division and refereeing Ireland's FAI Cup finals in 2003 and 2009. He was ranked the #1 referee in Ireland for several years, including referee of the year in 2006 before coming to the States and MLS where he officiated 8 years and was named MLS Referee of the Year in 2015, 2016 & 2018. He also was selected ref for MLS Cup 2016 and 2018.
Joe Fletcher, from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, is currently the Chief Refereeing Officer at PRO. His career spans 25 years, including officiating honors as CSL Referee of the Year in 2007, MLS Assistant Referee of the Year in 2018, appointed to MLS Cups as an AR in 2014 and 2016. He has also been an Assistant Referee in the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups along with officiating Concacaf Gold Cups, Concacaf Champions League Finals, FIFA U-20 World Cups, the Olympics, Copa America, and FIFA Confederations Cups.
