years birth_place league birth_date role article_title name
1985 -- 1988 1988 -- 2001 scarborough , england football league football league -lrb- 1952 -- 1953 -rrb- asst. referee referee william burns -lrb- referee -rrb-
 william burns
william burns -lrb- referee -rrb-

william burns -lrb- born 1952 -- 1953 -rrb- is a retired english football referee who officiated in the football league .
born in scarborough , burns refereed the 1996 football league third division play-off final , and the 2001 football league trophy final .
having officiated since 1985 , he retired as a football league referee at the end of the 2000 -- 01 season , at the age of 48 .
in 2002 , he bought a pub in scarborough with his wife , jenny .
in later life , he underwent a successful liver transplant at leeds general infirmary .
