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RAY BRADLEY meets Andy D'Urso, a banker at the top of the referee league

Nice guys finish second. Andy D'Urso is the exception. At 35, he has achieved the impossible dream - twin success in two totally different high-profile careers.

As a manager for Coutts - the Queen's banker - he has to make important decisions every day. On Saturdays he has to make instant decisions in the toughest job in sport - a Class One referee.

He was appointed to the elite Premier League in June - the only current Essex official to reach that status.

It was a big breakthrough for the Crays Hill family man and he confesses:

"I was overjoyed. It has been a burning ambition for five years. When I actually got the official news it was just fantastic.

"It was a personal boost to be invited to join the Premier League, but the invitation is only for one season. That applies to all Premier referees because you are assessed on every game. You could call it a pressure job," he chuckles.

His Premier debut was at Hillsborough - Sheffield Wednesday against Spurs - a match he will never forget.

"I travelled up to Sheffield on the Friday with my wife Paula and my two children, Daniel, eight, and five-year-old Alexandra.

"I wanted them to be involved, to share my excitement. Without their constant support I would not have made it," he says.

"The atmosphere was electric when I walked out on to the pitch. It got the old adrenalin racing. The players knew I was a new boy. They are briefed on every aspect of the game and they tested me out. There was an incident early on and I stepped in and sorted it out. I was flexing my muscles at this level but you have to be in control.

"The players respect decisive action and they responded well after that. The game flew by and it turned out to be a marvellous weekend for the whole family. I got the taste of life in the Premier and I liked it. It made me hungry for more."

As a bank manager, Andy receives total respect. Yet he has to suffer verbal indignities every Saturday from fanatical fans fuelled by a compulsive desire to win. How does he cope with the pressures and the insults?

"With difficulty at times," he concedes. "Football is a hyped -up sport, expecially in the Premier. The game is dominated by TV, big money and massive demands from managers and directors.

"Pressures go with the territory. You have to make decisions on the pitch, most of them upopular. You live or die on those decisions. Someone has to take the flak in football and it's usually the referee."

He adds with a flicker of humour: "You have to be thick-skinned to survive.

"On the Continent there is a completely different attitude. There is much more respect for feferees and clubs make them openly welcome.

"In England, unfortunately, we are regarded as a necessary evil. How evil? Well, when I qwa a linesman I got continual abuse in places like The Den at Millwall.

"Verbal abuse in one thing, but when some seven-year-old kid openly swears at you and doubts your parentage it says something for the fanaticism of some supporters. Some of them are shameless."

At Coutts he is in charge of the credit and charge card department. On the pitch, there is a certain irony in the phrase being "in charge". It is slightly more demanding.

Andy aptly describes it: "Two different worlds. You have to try and find the common denominator and that, basically, is man management. You are still dealing with people, still making decisions and, I stress, referees make honest decisions. They are probably the only neutral people in a crowd of 50,000. Everyone else has a vested interest."

It has taken Andy 11 years to become a Class One referee and another nine to reach the ultimate summit - the Premier League. Has it been worth all the acrimony and aggravation?

"Of course," he says with total conviction. "I started on this road as a 16-year-old schoolboy in Romford. I used to play alongside Tony Cottee who went on to play for West Ham and England. I knew I would not make a top pro and I developed an interest in other aspects of the game.

"I took a referee's course in Barking at 15 and passed it a year later. Everything took off from there officiating at park, local league, semi-pro and professional level.

"I love the game passionately at every level. I'm still a big fan of local football and the first results I look for on a Saturday are Southend and Billericay."

D'Urso, who lives in Crays Hill, derives his surname and Latin looks from his Italian ancestry. He is dark-haired, dresses casually and looks young enough to be a trendy, Premier League star on mind-blowing wages.

He trains at least twice a week in the local gym and thanks to a lot of aerobic exercise, is super fit and confident of his ability to handle people.

Football is often riddled with dissent, violence, indiscipline, cheating and a compulsion to win at all costs. It is euphemistically called "getting the retaliation in first".

Andy has sent off three players this season in his first seven games but says in defence: "No referee deliberately goes out with the intention of handing out red cards. We would much rather have a game without incident.

"But tempers flare, tackles are late and things can get out of hand.

"For certain offences there is a strict code and dismissal is mandatory. You have no choice.

"The assessors are watching to judge how you react and deal with every incident. We discuss things and they give constructive criticism, and I respect their advice. They are there to help.

"Professional referees? I think they will come, in time. Going full-time is not going to be an easy decision. You would have to think about security, length of contract, remuneration etc."

His next three games are at Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in December.

Andy couldn't wish for a bigger trio: millionaire clubs, massive TV exposure. He will survive the triple test of character. You can bank on it!

Dream come true - happy Andy, - pictured left with wife Paula and children Daniel and Alexandra.

Picture MAXINE CLARKE

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.