Suffolk match officials Abi Byrne from near Mildenhall and Vicky Anderson from Bury St Edmunds who teaches at Mildenhall Academy reflect on international experiences

A pair of Suffolk match officials with links to Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall are basking in the glow of carrying out international appointments.

Both Abi Byrne and Vicky Anderson, who are registered through Suffolk FA, certainly have stories to tell in their day jobs after their recent experiences in their second jobs.

While for Byrne the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup was the latest in her travels on top appointments in the female game, for Anderson taking up her place as an assistant referee for England versus Switzerland in a women’s under-16s fixture was a first taste of the international picture.

And the Bury-based 27-year-old, who has thanked Mildenhall College Academy, where she is a trainee teacher, for working around her appointments, it was ‘the most incredible experience’.

The friendly fixture took place last Wednesday at England’s National Football Centre at St George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent and saw England go on to win 4-2.

Anderson, who has in her third season as a match official and was an assistant referee at last season’s MH Goals Suffolk Women’s Cup Final at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road, said she received notification of her prestigious call-up via an email.

“I was overwhelmed with the news but truly excited and a bit nervous,” said Anderson, who stopped playing, having had a spell with Walsham-le-Willows, due to not being able to commit the time in her previous job as a nurse in the NHS.

Looking back on the day, she said: “It was like no other experience; the lead up and singing the national anthem was amazing.

“It was the most incredible experience. The highlight was definitely the walking out with the teams – that’s when it felt real.”

Suffolk FA referee development officer Ben Bowles said: “We as a refereeing department would like to congratulate Vicky on such a prestigious appointment.

“This is testament to Vicky’s hard work and dedication to her career thus far, and everyone at Suffolk FA looks forward to supporting and monitoring her

career as a match official in the future.”

‘Hopefully this experience will be a springboard for future tournaments’

Meanwhile, Byrne is hoping her participation at the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be a springboard to future tournaments.

The 32-year-old, who lives near Mildenhall, refereed three games and was fourth official for another at the tournament which ended in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

England’s only official chosen, she was picked to referee the quarter-final tie between North Korea and Poland.

She said: “My highlight of the tournament was refereeing the Dominican Republic's first game, which followed the opening ceremony on the pitch. They were hosting their first ever FIFA tournament and made it a real occasion.

“There was a proper Caribbean party atmosphere to kick off the tournament with music, dancing, fireworks, vuvuzelas and lots of colour! Walking out for that game was a whirlwind and a completely different experience to anything I’ve seen before.

“Reaching the knock-out phase is always the target of every referee, so another highlight was being trusted with a quarter-final between (eventual winners) North Korea and Nigeria.

“Unfortunately for me, England got through to the semi-finals which eliminated my chances of further progression, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time out there.”

Byrne said the experience was unlike any other she had been involved in.

“I can’t compare the tournament to anything I’ve done previously. From the moment I arrived, it was an intense environment where FIFA demanded high standards from us in all aspects.

“We trained in the 30-degree sun for three hours every morning, followed by four hours technical session indoors. The games were hot, humid and generally very entertaining.

“The atmosphere at the Dominican Republic games was an honour to be a part of.

“Hopefully this experience will be a springboard for future tournaments, giving me the tools to perform at the highest level I can,” she added.

Byrne and her fellow match officials trialled a new VAR system similar to that used in tennis at Wimbledon.

She said: “This was an interesting trial to be a part of and took a lot of practice on the training pitch in the build-up to the tournament.”