George Courtney MBE (born 4 June 1941[1]) is an English former football referee based in Spennymoor, County Durham.
In 1979, he took charge of the Charity Shield and was back at Wembley the following May for the ultimate honour of the FA Cup Final between West Ham and Arsenal.
On 9 February 2007, Courtney's son, Matthew, died after falling from the top floor of the gallery at the Tate Modern in London.
An inquest in May 2007 heard that Matthew Courtney had undergone several years of treatment for manic depression – which "may have been triggered by cannabis use".
He was due to retire in 1989 but in common with a number of other senior and respected officials at that time was granted an extension.
He was England's representative at the 1984 European Championships he refereed the Semi Final between Denmark and Spain, followed by the FIFA World Cups of 1986 and 1990.
The final match of his eventful career was the play-off game between Blackburn and Leicester for a place in the new Premier League.
[7] Courtney was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1991 New Year Honours for services to association football.