A HEREFORDSHIRE referee who has officiated for 42 years in the county has finally hung up his whistle and passed the mantle to the next generation.

Les Coultas has been officiating in Herefordshire since qualifying in 1981, but decided this season would be his last and officiated his very last game at the SSAFA County Ground on Saturday.

To mark his retirement and to thank Les for his service to the game, Hereford Lads Club asked young referee James Wilson to present Coultas with a bottle of whisky.

“As one generation of referee’s give way to the next Les can rest assured that the game he has strived to support for so many years is in safe hands,” a statement by the Herefordshire FA said.

The presentation on the day of his final match was in addition to a further gift he was given on behalf of the Herefordshire FA, with a large number of local clubs contributing confirming that Coultas will be sorely missed.

Anyone interested in following in his footsteps should contact referees@herefordshirefa.com, with a course being planned for the forthcoming summer holidays.

The Herefordshire County League has now been concluded for the season with Premier Division winners Sporting Club Inkberrow moving up to step six of the non-league pyramid in the Hellenic Division One.

Ledbury Town finished second just a single point behind the league winners, while Hereford Pegasus Reserves were third.

Hereford Lads Club Reserves were the clear winners of Division One winning 14 of their 16 league matches to finish eight points ahead of seconds placed Ewyas Harold.

 

Division Two was another closely fought contest with Wellington Colts winning all of their 16 matches to finish six points above Leominster Town.