Ben Williams (referee)

Benjamin Jon Williams, better known as Ben Williams, is a retired Australian football referee.

Refereeing career

Williams officiates in the Asian Champions League, AFC Cup and in the Australian A-League football competition. He has been a FIFA referee since 2005 and AFC Elite panel referee since 2006.
Williams has been selected to referee at the FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil and is the only Australian referee to be selected.
He was selected to officiate at the 2012 Asian Champions League final in Korea between Ulsan Hyundai and Al Ahli. He has officiated in the AFC Champions League since 2007.
In 2012, he was also selected to officiate 4 matches at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He officiated in the opening Great Britain match at Old Trafford against Senegal in front of approximately 75,000 spectators.
He officiated at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup Turkey, 2010 FIFA Club World Cup and 2011 AFC Asian Cup.
Williams debuted in the Hyundai A-League in Round 1, 26 August 2005 and at time of retirement, was the most experienced referee in the A-League. He refereed his 100th match, Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide United, at Bluetongue Stadium in March 2012.
On 15 January 2014, FIFA announced that Ben Williams was selected as one of the 25 2014 FIFA World Cup officials. In preparation of the tournament Williams took six months off work to ensure he could focus on his training and preparation. He was the first Australian referee appointed as the referee to a second-round game of a World Cup. He was also one of officials in 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
On 22 July 2016, the Football Federation Australia announced that Williams would retire from refereeing after 22 years on the national panels and 12 years as a FIFA referee. Williams, in total, refereed 161 Hyundai A-League matches and 24 NSL matches throughout his career. He also refereed the 2015 Westfield FFA Cup final as well as international matches through the AFC and FIFA panels, including becoming the first Australian referee to officiate at a knockout match at a FIFA World Cup in 2014.

Matches

A-League matches

Williams is currently the most experienced A-League referee having refereed 130 matches by the end of the 2013/2014 season.

2005/2006 season: 16 matches
2006/2007 season: 12 matches
2007/2008 season: 16 matches
2008/2009 season: 16 matches
2009/2010 season: 21 matches
2010/2011 season: 15 matches
2011/2012 season: 12 matches
2012/2013 season: 12 matches
2013/2014 season: 18 matches
2014/2015 season: 11 matches

International matches

14-3-2007: Hong Kong – Syria
6-6-2007: Vietnam – Indonesia
22-8-2007: Korea Republic – Uzbekistan
12-9-2007: Japan – Qatar

[AFC Cup]

10-4-2007: Pahang – Tampines Rovers
9-5-2007: Victory SC – Sun Hei

AFC Champions League

12-3-2008: Sepahan – Al Ittihad
19-4-2008: Al Wahda – Al Sadd
24-9-2008: Urawa Red Diamonds – Al Qadsia
17-3-2009: Shandong Luneng – Sriwijaya
07-4-2009: Al Jazira – Ittihad
05-5-2009: Ettifaq – Bunyodkor
24-5-2009: Kashima Antlers – FC Seoul
24-9-2009: Pakhtakor – Ittihad
30-1-2010: Singapore Armed Forces FC – Sriwijaya
23-2-2010: Bunyodkor – Ittihad
30-3-2010: Sanat Mes Kerman – Al Sadd
13-4-2010: Singapore Armed Forces FC – Henan Jianye
28-4-2010: Al-Ahli SC – Al-Gharafa
12-5-2010: Al-Hilal – Bunyodkor
22-9-2010: Pohang Steelers – Zobahan
2-3-2011: Al-Wahda – Bunyodkor
5-4-2011: Al-Hilal – Al Jazira
3-5-2011: Al Sadd – Esteghlal
14-9-2011: Sepahan – Al Sadd
6-3-2012: Al Rayyan – Esteghlal
4-4-2012: Al Shabab – Al-Hilal
10-11-2012: Ulsan Hyundai – Al-Ahli SC
27-2-2013: Al Rayyan – Esteghlal
12-3-2013: Urawa Red Diamonds – Muangthong United
2-4-2013: Al Nasr – Al-Gharafa
14-5-2013: Buriram United – Bunyodkor
25-9-2013: FC Seoul – Esteghlal
14-4-2014: Al Hilal - Bunyodkor
25-9-2015: Al Hilal – Lekhwiya SC

[2008 AFC U-19 Championship]

31-10-2008: Saudi Arabia – Iran
2-11-2008: United Arab Emirates – Korea Republic
8-11-2008: China – Uzbekistan

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

14-6-2008: Singapore – Saudi Arabia
22-6-2008: Jordan – Turkmenistan
11-2-2009: Iran – Korea Republic
10-6-2009: Korea Republic – Saudi Arabia

2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

21-1-2009: Malaysia – United Arab Emirates
14-11-2009: Vietnam – Syria
6-1-2010: Thailand – Jordan

2010 Asian Games

Guangzhou, China

8-11-2010: North Korea - South Korea
10-11-2010: Iran - Bahrain
13-11-2010: China - Malaysia
* In this game he gave 3 Red Cards and 7 Yellow Cards, all the cards were for Malaysia, some of the Red Cards was given for protesting referee's decision. The result was 8-man Malaysians being thrashed 3–0 by the Chinese football team at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
15-11-2010: Qatar - Uzbekistan
23-11-2010: South Korea - UAE

FIFA Club World Cup

Abu Dhabi, UAE

10-12-2012: TP Mazembe Congo - Pachuca Mexico
14-12-2012: TP Mazembe Congo - S.C. Internacional Brasil
15-12-2010: Pachuca Mexico - Al-Wahda ''UAE''

2011 AFC Asian Cup

Doha, Qatar

8-1-2011: Kuwait - China PR Al Gharafa Stadium, Doha
13-1-2012: Saudi Arabia - Jordan Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
17-1-2012: Japan - Saudi Arabia Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

28-7-2011: Indonesia - Turkmenistan
11-10-2011: Japan - Tajikistan
11-11-2011: Jordan - Singapore
11-9-2012: Uzbekistan - South Korea
10 September 2012: Uzbekistan – Jordan

2012 Men's Football Olympics – Asian qualifiers

19 June 2011: China PR – Oman Hongkou Football Stadium, Shanghai, China

2012 Summer Olympics football tournament

26-7-2012: Great Britain - Senegal Old Trafford, Manchester
29-7-2012: Mexico - Gabon City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry
1-08-2012: Spain - Morocco Old Trafford, Manchester
4-08-2012: Mexico - Senegal Wembley Football Stadium, London

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup

21-7-2013: Japan - China PR

2014 FIFA World Cup

20-6-2014: Honduras - Ecuador
26-6-2014: Korea Republic - Belgium
29-6-2014: Costa Rica - Greece
5-7-2014: Argentina - Belgium

[2015 AFC Asian Cup]

11-1-2015: Iran - Bahrain
18-1-2015: Uzbekistan - Saudi Arabia
23-1-2015: Iran – Iraq

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

24-5-2015: Thailand - Vietnam

2016 [Kirin Cup]

3-6-2016: Denmark - Bosnia and Herzegovina
*This was Williams' third PSO in three years after refereeing in 2015 Asian Cup PSO between Iran - Iraq; and in 2014 FIFA World Cup between Costa Rica - Greece.

Teaching career

During his refereeing career, Williams was a public high school teacher in the Australian Capital Territory, where he has taught at Melba High School, Belconnen High School, and Lyneham High School. In 2020 he was promoted to an executive position at the University of Canberra High School Kaleen where he continues to teach physical education.

Honours

2013 AFC Referee of the Year
National Soccer League 2002 Assistant Referee of the Year
2008 ACT Sportstar Official of the Year