Stephen John Lodge (born 26 September 1952[1]) is an English former football referee, who retired from top-flight officiating at the end of the 2000-2001 season.
His first appointment in this competition was the game between Middlesbrough and Manchester City on 19 August 1992 at Ayresome Park – a 2–0 home win with goals from Bernie Slaven.
[5] He refereed the 1997 FA Cup Final when Chelsea defeated Middlesbrough 2–0, the goals coming from Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton.
[6] In 1998, he was appointed to referee another FA Cup semi-final, this time between Arsenal and Wolves, which the 'Gunners' won with a Christopher Wreh goal, on their way to winning a second "double".
[9] In 2002, he was invited by the then manager of Leeds United, David O'Leary, to counsel their players for a period of time regarding reaction to official decisions on the field of play and their incidents of past misconduct.