Phil’s passed the magic 500 mark – and still going strong!

Phil Gale has been a highly respected referee in the Pembrokeshire League for 19 years, who, after many years as a player, and officiating at over 500 matches, fully intends to make it a double celebration next year when he completes 20 years in the middle and reaches his 60th birthday.
Phil is rightly proud of his reputation as a no-nonsense official who doesn’t allow bad language on the pitch or the touchlines and he is held in respect by players, including youngsters whose fathers he played with or against – or reffed when he was much younger. This was certainly the case at the end of the season when he took charge of the Prendergast Villa versus Tenby match on the Prendergast School pitch where Tenby had already gained the division two silverware and the Villa were searching for the runners-up spot in front of a vociferous crowd. There was a potential for problems but Phil kept things calm, made the odd booking at the right time, stopped play and awarded a free kick for too much ‘gobbing off’ by one player, and received a handshake from both sides in recognition of being a small part of an entertaining match which the Villa won 4-2 and so both teams will play in Division One next season.

Undoubted highlights

Ask Phil about the highlights of his refereeing career and he would answer with ease.
“Being in charge of the Senior Cup was a wonderful moment and I will never forget that day in 1996 when Merlins Bridge beat Goodwick United. It was a memorable moment that was matched only by the match where Hakin United beat Pennar Robins on the Observatory Field to start their long run of league championship successes during the 1996/97 season. I had reffed Pennar at St Ishmaels in midweek and the Robins needed to win that to make sure they were champions – but they lost and had to go to The Obs on Saturday and Hakin won 2-0 to start their impressive run. It was a good, hard match and the euphoria after the match – and Pennar’s despair – was something I will never forget.”

Old-fashioned centre half

Phil was brought up as a nipper in Hakin and went to Milford Grammar School, where he played as a centre half for Hakin Juniors and the old Sea Cadets’ team in the late 1960s. When he became a police cadet at 17 he met wife Rona, who hailed from Letterston, and he played for the village team there for half a season before he was posted to Llanelli and turned out, as always as a tough-tackling centre half, for the Suburbs’ side in Burry Port. When his police work took him to Tenby he played for four seasons at Kilgetty and really enjoyed himself alongside real characters like Adge John, Wallace Howells, Dai Griffiths and Norman ‘Keegan’ James.
Another career move saw Phil move to help police the St Davids area and he played for a Solva team which changed in the village’s Memorial hall and he became acquainted with great club servants like John Arter, Ken Jenkins and Walter Smith, plus players like Nobby Howells, Taffy Walsh and Jeff Jenkins, with whom he had played alongside in the Pembrokeshire Schools’ Under 15 team.

Out of county with work

Phil was eventually promoted to sergeant when he joined the police training staff in Cwmbran and Adge John, who had family in the area, arranged for Phil to play for a team called GWR in the Gwent League. He had two enjoyable years there but then it was back to Haverfordwest as the training and recruitment sergeant and he returned to play for Solva until he became a police inspector in Milford Haven and bought a house there for Rona and their three daughters, Ann, Sally and Vicky.

Indian Summer at Pill Lane

When travelling to home matches became something of a nuisance he decided he would finish his playing days with Milford Athletic and it proved to be something of an Indian Summer for Phil since he gained a place in the first team which not only forced its way into the first division but reached the Senior Cup semi-final. He finally decided to hang up his boots when he was 37 and for a season became co-manager of the Athletic’s second string with Roy Aldred, something which he readily admits to finding difficult.
“I found it hard going on the touchline because I was getting too involved for my own good,” says Phil, “but Danny Humphreys saved my bacon because he asked me to referee the under 16s on a Saturday morning and I gave it a go. I really enjoyed the involvement and after reffing another match saw an advert for new referees.

Encouragement from old hands

Then I bumped into experienced refs Dennis Warlow and Colin Williams and both were very encouraging - that was in 1989 and in no time at all I was joining Brian Hawkins, Dave Haworth and Selwyn Jenkins in a course for new referees.
My first match was between Haverfordwest County and Letterston and I decided to follow Dennis Warlow by keeping a note of all the games I was referee. I’m glad I did that because I hit 500 last season and I am still enjoying being involved in football.”
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Phil because, like all refs, he knows there have been times when he hasn’t been on his top form and it is then, when the players and crowd get at you, that you really have to love football to just shrug things off and get the kit ready for the next match.

Cup Final occasions

The first time that Phil officiated at a cup final was the under 14s and he was delighted to be chosen, as he was when he reffed the Wiltshire Cup, Reserve Division, Second and Fourth Division Finals. He also joined the Welsh League panel and spent time as an assistant referee there, with one match in the middle at Pontardawe, but he had to stand down at 45 and so missed out on more games there. But he didn’t mind because he was happy to blow his whistle in Pembrokeshire and would say that he has been very lucky man to have been so involved for so long.
“The players and officials in this county have always shown me respect and I have never minded a bit of banter on the line, as long as it doesn’t go too far. I’ll keep going for as long as I feel I am doing my job in keeping the game flowing. Then I’ll pack up.”
You have that feeling that Phil Gale will do just that but let’s hope it is some time yet before the old legs get too tired because he really does do a smashing job as a very good referee!