Queensland referee Alex King has been announced as the third member of Football Federation Australia (FFA)’s full time Professional Referees Panel.

The 27-year-old Hyundai A-League referee joins Chris Beath and Shaun Evans as full time FFA professional referees.

King replaces fellow Queensland referee Jarred Gillett, who recently moved to England to pursue refereeing and academic opportunities.

King’s Hyundai A-League officiating debut came in 2015 when he replaced the injured Alan Milliner in a Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory match. Since then, he’s made strides in his refereeing career.

Since his debut, he’s refereed 22 regular Hyundai A-League games and officiated the 2018/19 Perth Glory and Adelaide United semi-final. More recently, he had a career-defining moment when he officiated a friendly match between English Premier League side Manchester United and Perth Glory.

The young Queenslander also refereed the 2019 FFA Cup Round of 32 match between Brisbane Strikers and Wellington Phoenix as well as the Round of 16 match between Brisbane Roar FC and Central Coast Mariners.

King, who has juggled his match duties with his job as a carpenter, said he was excited at the prospect of focusing on a career he loved.

“It’s hard for anyone to find a job they truly love so when I found out, I was pretty ecstatic. I feel like a lot of the hard work has finally paid off,” King said.

In terms of what he hopes to gain from this new appointment, King said he’s ready to develop his skills even further.

“Hopefully I can improve my refereeing. I just want to continue the improvement now that it’s my sole focus,” King said.

Now that the Queenslander has reached this momentous milestone in his career, he’s already looking ahead to his next goal.

“My ultimate goal is the World Cup. Whether that’s 10 years down the track or not, it’s the most obvious goal. But for the short term, I just want to be the best referee I can be in the A-League.”

King also humbly thanked his parents for the continuous support they gave while he was pursuing his dream career.

“My parents put a lot of effort in when I was young, so without their support, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

Words: Vivien Topalovic
Image: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images