World record referee Ken Wright has been given a special welcome by the club he has supported all his life after Swansea City invited the 78-year-old behind the scenes to meet Vitor Matos and his players.
The lifelong Swans fan visited the club’s Fairwood training base during the week, where he watched the first team train and met head coach Vitor Matos and members of the squad.
Ken was then welcomed to the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday, September 12, as Swansea City hosted Burnley in the Championship.
The visit came just weeks after the Swansea referee was officially recognised as the longest-serving football referee in history following an extraordinary career stretching back to 1964.
Swansea City said: “We welcomed referee and life-long Swans fan Ken Wright to the Stadium yesterday!”
The club added: “He recently earned a Guinness World Record as the longest-serving football referee in history, officiating for 63 years.
“Ken also came to Fairwood in the week to watch training and meet the players.”
Among those Ken met at the stadium was Swans legend Alan Curtis, bringing together two men whose associations with football in Swansea span generations.
Ken first took up the whistle as a 15-year-old in 1964. His debut, Glantawe against South Gower at Cefn Coed Hospital, ended 13-4 on a rain-soaked day he has since recalled as a “disaster”.
Rather than putting him off, it proved to be the beginning of a refereeing career which would take him from Swansea’s local leagues to some of the most famous grounds in British football.
He has officiated at Highbury, White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge, while his long connection with his hometown club has also included appointments at Swansea City matches.
Ken remains active in local football and is still taking charge of games in the Swansea Senior League in his 63rd season.
Speaking after his world record was confirmed, he described the achievement as “unbelievable”, saying the thought of being the longest-serving referee not just in Wales or Europe but across the world felt “unreal”.
His latest visit was a rather different experience from the thousands of Saturdays he has spent with whistle in hand — this time watching from the sidelines as Matos put his Swansea City squad through their preparations before being welcomed at the stadium.
And after more than six decades involved in the game, there is still no indication that Swansea’s record-breaking referee is ready to call full-time on his remarkable career.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
SWANSEA: Ken Wright named world’s longest-serving referee after 63 seasons
The 78-year-old Swansea referee entered the Guinness World Records after more than 5,000 matches.
SWANS: ‘We can compete against every team’: Matos hails complete Swansea display
The head coach hailed Swansea’s 3-1 Championship win over Burnley as a complete performance.
SWANS: Clinical Swansea sweep aside sorry Burnley to climb back into the top two
Adam Idah, Moussa Yeo and Zan Vipotnik struck as the Swans beat Burnley 3-1.
SWANS: ‘A pressing monster’: Matos praises Idah, Yeo and Vipotnik after Burnley rout
Vitor Matos praised the attacking trio after Swansea’s impressive Championship victory.
Discover more from Swansea Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
