WELL respected Cornish football official Gerald Sobey has announced he is blowing the final whistle on his career in the sport when the current season ends, writes Leon Prynn.

It has not been an easy decision to make for one of the doyens of local football, but according to Sobey, who lives at Mawgan, near Helston, he feels now is the time to call it a day.

A vice-president of the Cornwall FA and now 85-years-old, Sobey has been involved in all aspects of football, but It will signal the end of an amazing 68 year career spanning eight decades of dedication as a player, club secretary, secretary of two leagues, league fixture secretary, a referee and referee administrator.

Before his national service, Sobey kicked off his playing career in 1947-48 as a goalkeeper with Mawgan United and when he returned from duty he continued to play for the club.

“I played for three seasons, well I was signed on for three seasons,” he said.

“But I couldn't get a regular game, basically because I wasn't any good.”

Realistically this was the beginning of the end of his playing career and despite being so young it was then he first started life as an administrator, albeit in a minor role.

Sobey said: “I was secretary of Mawgan for a couple of years, but in 1953, when I was 23, Edward Noye persuaded me to take up refereeing.”

He enjoyed a long career as a man in black and it was fitting his final official game was in 1974 when he refereed the representative fixture between the Cornwall Combination League and the East Cornwall Premier League.

He had also refereed all the local cup finals as well as being the referee for the Easter Monday Finals runners-up match between St Austell and Saltash and the Cornwall Junior Cup Final runners-up game between Constantine and St Lawrence's Hospital.

Along with refereeing, Sobey also became involved in administration and in 1954 joined the Helston and District Football League committee and a year later becoming the referees' appointments secretary for the league.

He held that role until the league amalgamated with the Falmouth and District Football League in 1960-61 and a year later he became the league secretary, a position he held until 1984-85 when he stood down because he found the increased workload of the Cornwall Referees' Appointments Board's secretary for the western area of the county very time consuming.

He was persuaded to return to the league committee in 1988 to fill the hot-seat vacated by Neil MacDonald's decision to stand down, a position he held until the league amalgamated with the Mining League in 2011-12.

When this happened, Sobey maintained his involvement and despite being in his 80s took on the role of fixtures secretary.

“I have enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.

“I have made many friends over the years, but I know that now is the right time to step aside. I suppose I have spent immeasurable hours of time helping to run local football, but it has been very satisfying especially when you see how much the game has grown.

“I just wish that I was a bit younger so that I could carry on, but that is not going to happen.

“I wish the league every success and hope that it continues to prosper in the future.”