DARREN England has just finished his 20th season as a footballing official but the Barnsley man is hoping for many more.

The 39-year-old from Little Houghton is a regular referee or Video Assistant Referee (VAR) or fourth official in the English top flight, having started as a teenager in the Barnsley Sunday League two decades ago.

He reached the Premier League as an assistant referee but, after the 2015 FA Cup final, became the man in the middle and worked his way back up to the top division where he has been a regular for the last five seasons.

England told the Chronicle: “My first game was in the Barnsley Sunday League at Royston and I gave a red card for a headbutt. I never thought then I would have achieved what I have done. But moving up the levels, I just wanted more and more.

“I have had so many great experiences all through blowing a whistle. I have been to 45 countries as an official.

“Being part of the best league in the world is fantastic.

“I am keen to push on and tick off more targets and goals.

“Domestically, I was fourth official on both finals last year which is a big achievement but it’s motivated me to want to referee the finals.

“Internationally, I have done friendlies and under 21s but never a competitive international.

“I just want to do as many games and possible and get as much exposure as possible in the right way.”

Being part of the Premier League brings scrutiny, especially when a referee makes a mistake.

England was the subject of much debate for a week in 2023 when VAR for a game in which a Liverpool goal was wrongly ruled out.

“It’s a goldfish bowl. Everyone talks about it.

“But it’s a privilege to be part of it and I’ve worked hard to be there.

“Inevitably we will make mistakes.

“The unique thing about our job is everyone can see your mistakes and hear what you say.

“They see your body language, your angle, your positioning. Then people see replays as well.

“I thrive on that pressure and tension and I like the unknown that every game is different, even though we prepare a lot and put a lot of work in.

“If we do make a mistake we need to put things in place to make sure we don’t do it again.

“You have to have a high level of resilience which develops over time and with experience. I have two children and it puts things into perspective and makes it easier to manage the pressure.”

VAR is an opinion-splitting addition to the sport but England says it has helped him and the game in general.

“It’s a different skill being a VAR and a referee. It’s a bit like being a player then a manager.

“The most frequent question I get is about VAR. I always flip it back and say: if you had a chance to rectify a mistake at work, why would you not want that?

“Whether that is a policeman, teacher, doctor. It’s like having a Phone a Friend or Ask the Audience.

“I think it’s a great addition because, if you come away from a game and you’ve impacted the result in a negative way, it ruins your week.

“It’s a very good system but it’s not there for perfection because it’s not a perfect game. It is there for the clear and obvious errors.

“We work in a lot of grey areas. Sometimes I say: what is the correct decision? We’re obsessed with getting the correct decision but you could show a really tough clip to a room of referees and it’s like a 60/40 split.

“The stats show with VAR we get more decisions right which makes the game fairer and that has to be a win for everyone.”

England is currently in pre-season training. He said: “We have a period of downtime to let the body and mind rest.

“I spent a lot of time with the family, played tennis and golf and tried to switch off from football completely.

“Then we come back to build our fitness back up and take on board the new directives.

“We’re abroad this week for a pre-season camp and some warm weather training.

“Then we’ll get one or two friendlies in. I am hoping to be involved in some of the early games in the European club competitions again.”

England was referee for some Premier League games last season in which Scott Ledger, from Royston, was one of his assistants.

“Barnsley has a good history of referees. I had mentors like John Conway, David Phillips, Trelford Mills and Steve Lodge when I was coming through.”

England is a Barnsley fan so cannot referee their matches.

He said: “I try to get to Oakwell as much as I can. Obviously it’s difficult because I generally am refereeing when the lads are playing. I am still in contact with people like Bobby Hassell and Kieron (Campbell) in the community trust. I watched a lot of games on Sky last season. The first thing I do after games is check their results. Hopefully they will have a good season next season and bounce back to the Championship.”