Former Hibs player turns Premiership referee as John Beaton injury sparks shock debut in post playing career
The former Hibee took over refereeing duties in the match between Falkirk and Celtic.
Following an injury to John Beaton, ex Hibs man, Sean Murdoch became the man in the middle for the first time during an SPFL Premiership match.
Since the former goalkeeper hung up his gloves, he had always outlined his ambitions to become a referee and had already achieved the relevant qualifications before his retirement. While he has been the fourth official in several other top-flight matches. Wednesday night’s clash between Falkirk and Celtic was the first time he took over whistling duties in the Premiership.
Murdoch was the fourth official during the first half at the Falkirk Stadium, but was asked to step up to the plate, when veteran referee John Beaton deemed himself unfit to carry on after the break. In the game itself, Celtic narrowly won 1-0, thanks to Benjamin Nygren’s first half strike. In terms of any controversial refereeing incidents, the match was fairly quiet.
Murdoch called upon for shock referee debut
The 39-year old made his top-flight officiating debut in February last year during a match between Kilmarnock and St Mirren, two decades after he made his first appearance as a player. A son of Wester Hailes, Murdoch was scouted by Hearts as a teenager before being snapped up by Dunfermline, where he made his first senior appearance as a 19-year old.
After stints at Hamilton Academical and Accrington Stanley, he moved to Hibs in 2012, however he only notched two appearances in Leith and was largely behind Ben Williams in the selection order, under the likes of Pat Fenlon and Terry Butcher. After spending two years at Easter Road, he made the switch stateside to Rochester Rhinos, before moving back to Dunfermline in 2015, where he would eventually finish his career.
As we look across the city to the likes of Craig Gordon, who is still performing between the sticks aged 43, Murdoch could easily have had a few more years left in him as a player. However he chose to retire at 32 to pursue his dream of becoming a referee. He was even close to hanging up his gloves earlier, when he was given an ‘ultimatum’ whilst at Hibs.
Murdoch on Hibs ‘ultimatum’
Speaking to SunSport in 2022, Murdoch revealed he had the chance to become a full time referee while he was at Easter Road, however he turned the opportunity down due to his inexperience. He said: “I retired from playing when I was 32 to give myself the best chance I could of going as far as I can as a referee.
“I’ve been doing games since I was 23 — starting with amateur games on Sundays and going as far as I could when I was still playing. When I was 27 there was a contract offer from Hibs. I’d reached category 3 but the ultimatum was that I had to stop playing to keep refereeing.
“I wasn’t quite ready to do that but when I was in my early 30s I’d agreed with the SFA’s then Head of Refereeing, the late John Fleming, that I’d stop playing and give refereeing a real go. Stopping at 32 is obviously early for a goalkeeper but I wanted to give myself as good a chance as I could on the refereeing front.”