Career
Don was originally from Sheffield but his teaching career took him south to Middlesex. He is counted amongst the top 100 referees of all time in a list maintained by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). He became a Football League linesman in 1980 at the age of 28.
In 1985 he missed out at the interview stage for a place on the referees list but was successful the following year.
Very soon he showed his potential to be a leading referee and picked up a fair number of top division games. His progress was accelerated by Fédération internationale de football association"s decision to reduce its retirement age for referees to forty five.
This provided new opportunities for a number of younger officials and Don was one of five promoted to the Fédération internationale de football association List in 1992. In a short time he made his mark on the international stage.
When the original choice for the 1993-1994 Union of European Football Associations Champions League Final, Dutchman John Blankenstein, had to withdraw, Don took charge of the game in Athens, even though he had little over two years experience at that level
In the match, Milan thrashed Barcelona 4-0. He officiated in two matches in the 1994 World Cup: the quarter-final between Sweden and Romania in Palo Alto, and the first-round game between Saudi Arabia and Morocco in New Jersey. Don took charge of the 1995 League Cup Final but his career came to a premature end at the end of that season.
He had to retire, five years early, as work commitments as a headteacher took priority.
He moved into a referee assessing role and later became head of refereeing at the Football Association towards the end of the 1990s. He favoured a hardline, "by the book" style of refereeing in the Premier League and ushered in the new Select List of professional referees in 2001.
This though led to tensions, particularly with David Elleray who preferred to maintain his teaching career at Harrow School rather than turn professional. Other tensions appeared and he was later replaced by Keith Hackett.