You would expect the players to shed blood, sweat and tears during a game, but not the referee.

Twenty-one-year-old official Michael Brownsett has already got a few tales to tell of being the man in the middle of the Bradford Sunday Alliance League, including some heated exchanges on the pitch.

In 2007, Brownsett was taken to hospital with facial injuries after an incident in the game between Quarry FC and Bishop Rovers FC in Bradford Road, Clayton.

“I’ve been assaulted a couple of times,” explained Brownsett.

“A couple of years ago, I sent a player off for foul and abusive language. Five minutes later, he came back on and punched me twice in the face and head-butted me.

“It didn’t put me off though, if anything it made me more determined to prove that I was capable of refereeing.”

Bishop Rovers later disbanded amid controversy over the alleged assault.

His attitude is a refreshing antidote to the widespread problem within football of a lack of referees willing to step over the white line and into the firing line.

The Football Association estimates that in some areas of the country, 20 per cent of games are played without a qualified match official. But even the most highly qualified refs can have an off day sometimes, such as Swedish whistle-blower Martin Hansson, who failed to spot Thierry Henry’s blatant handball that helped France recently qualify for next year’s World Cup.

“If you have a look at all four officials in that game, none of them got a clear view of it,” said Brownsett. “Mistakes do happen at every level but I do feel sorry for him – that could ruin his chances of officiating at the World Cup.”

It’s a level that Brownsett dreams of reaching himself in the future.

He said: “I started as a level eight referee when I was 14, taking charge of under-16 fixtures, and I’m at level four at the moment.

“I’ve just begun officiating some Bradford Park Avenue Reserves games and I’ll hopefully be moving up the ladder again fairly soon,” said Brownsett.

“My ambition is to be a Premier League referee one day.”

It’s not just the 22 players on the pitch that have dreams of hitting the big time, referees do too.