Peter Willis
| Full name | Peter N Willis | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
26 October 1937 Newfield, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England |
||
| Other occupation | Police officer | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1968–1972 | Football League | Linesman | |
| 1972–1986 (full list) | Football League | Referee | |
Peter N. Willis (born 26 October 1937) is an English former association football referee, who operated in the Football League. He originates from Newfield, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, but now lives in Meadowfield. His other occupation was as a police officer.
He was educated at Spennymoor Grammar School, and later played amateur football for Tow Law Town. He was signed by Newcastle United, but never played above reserve level for them, eventually giving up to join the police force. He served at Cassop and Quarrington Hill, also playing football for their local teams. Throughout his career, his wife Helen had been "hugely supportive".
Before one of those local matches in 1963, the appointed referee failed to turn up. Willis took charge of the game, and soon after formally trained as a referee.
He became a Football League linesman in 1968. He was promoted to the supplementary list of referees in 1971 and then the full list in 1972.
He was appointed to the Football League Cup Final of 1982, when Liverpool defeated Tottenham 3–1, after extra time.
Willis refereed the 1985 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Everton, which United won 1–0, courtesy of a Norman Whiteside goal during extra time. This appointment made him one of very few non-FIFA referees to control both major English Cup Finals. In the 78th minute of normal time he sent off Kevin Moran of Manchester United after a foul on Everton's Peter Reid 40 yards (37 m) away from goal. In a 2002 newspaper article, Willis commented: "Moran just kicked him. Peter Reid might well have gone higher up in the air than he needed to but I saw what happened and I had a decision to make. I either put the whistle on the ground and walked off, or applied the laws of the game and sent him off."
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