Ed Morrison (rugby union)

Ed Morrison
OBE
Birth nameEdward Francis Morrison
Date of birth (1951-09-06) 6 September 1951 (age 73)
Place of birthBristol, England
Rugby union career
Refereeing career
Years Competition Apps
1995 Rugby World Cup

Edward Francis Morrison OBE (born 6 September 1951) is a former English rugby union referee. He refereed the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.[1] In 1998 he became England's first full-time professional referee. He was given an award by the International Rugby Board for distinguished service in 2001.[2]

Morrison first retired from refereeing in 2003. He was involved with the Bristol Referees' Society, then the RFU and PRO12. He was appointed as manager of England's elite referees in 2008.[3] He stepped down as head of the elite referees in 2013 just before the Aviva Premiership season started.[4]

He was appointed as PRO12's Referee Commissioner in 2014,[5] and he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours list "for services to rugby union".[6][7]

  1. ^ Bale, Steve (13 February 1996). "Referee Morrison stays a free spirit". The Independent. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. ^ Dobson, Paul (26 April 2017). "SA Rugby Referees". www.sareferees.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Ed Morrison to head up elite referees unit". 13 December 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Ed Morrison leaves top RFU referee's position". Sky Sports. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Morrison Appointed As PRO12's Referee Commissioner". Irish Rugby.ie. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  6. ^ Bloom, Dan (2 January 2018). "New Year Honours list in full - All the people being rewarded for services to Britain in 2018". Mirror Online. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  7. ^ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N13.