After 40 years as the man in the middle, one of Tayside’s most-respected and well-known referees is to hang up his whistle within the next few weeks.
Fraser Bowman started his refereeing career in 1975, at the young age of 15.
“My first game was a Midlands AFA match at Fairmuir Park,” recalled Fraser, of Hospital Street, Dundee.
“I had gone along to watch the game but the referee hadn’t turned up and the teams asked if anyone could volunteer to help out.
“In those days, you didn’t need to be registered.
“I volunteered and, from then on, I decided that’s what I wanted to do — to become a referee.
“In 1986, I passed the diploma examination of the laws of the game under the Scottish Football Referees Association (SFRA) and was then able to referee in any league.
“I started refereeing Dundee Sunday Morning League games and also the afternoon Dundee Sunday Welfare League.”
It wasn’t just in Dundee that Fraser officiated.
He continued: “After a few years of refereeing in these leagues, I moved to taking charge of the Saturday afternoon Perth Amateurs and Sunday morning Perth Pub League.
“A few years later, I joined the Dundee Sunday Boys League.
“I continued with them until 1999 when I was asked to referee in the Perth & Kinross Boys League, refereeing on Sunday afternoons.
“During my time there, I was nominated by Ronnie Adams (P&K match secretary) for the Scottish Boys National Cup Finals in 2001 and was selected as fourth official in the U/14 category.
“That year, all the boys national finals were held at Hampden Park.
“I continued in the Perth League until March 2008.”
The upsurge in women’s football heralded another switch for Fraser.
Fraser, a housing caretaker for Dundee City Council, explained: “In May 2008, I was asked by Bill Millar (SFA supervisor) to referee a women’s game, a sport which was gaining popularity.
“This eventually led to a call from the SFA at Hampden to referee in the Scottish Women’s Football Senior League.
“During this time up until 2010, I was also assistant referee at Junior level and also U/19 Scottish Premier League.
“In 2012, I was honoured to take charge of the Scottish Women’s Division 2 play-off final between Murieston United and Spartans Reserves.
“This game was played at Recreation Park, home of Alloa Athletic.
“I have seen a great change in women’s football, which is going from strength to strength.”
Fraser, who is married to Heather, now feels it is time to take a back seat.
He concluded: “After 40 years refereeing, I have now decided it is time to call it a day after my last game on October 18.
“That is when I referee women’s First Division teams Jeanfield Swifts and East Fife.”
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