William Henry Thompson MBE (1933 – 2021) was a British rugby league referee.
Thompson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1985 Birthday Honours for services to rugby league.
[2] Born in Huddersfield, Thompson was an aspiring footballer in his younger years, and was on the books at Gillingham, but failed to make the grade.
[4] He took charge of his first Challenge Cup final in 1971, and became the first referee to send off a player in a Challenge Cup final when he dismissed Syd Hynes for an alleged headbutt on Alex Murphy.
[5] In 1980, he refereed the inaugural State of Origin game between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.