Former PL referee reveals he has Parkinson's disease as he opens up on struggles

Former Premier League referee Phil Dowd has opened up on his battle with Parkinson's disease.

Dowd, 61, enjoyed a distinguished officiating career from 1997 to 2016, which included 15 years in the top flight.

He took charge of several memorable games, including FA and League Cup finals, while also overseeing clashes that involved the likes of Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, Dowd has revealed he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease during Covid-19, which is a condition that affects around 153,000 people in the UK.

Despite the tragic news, the former official - who first became aware of various symptoms when his wife spotted him arm shaking - remains in the game, working as a refereeing coach.

As part of this he oversees the progress of six officials, including Sunny Singh Gill, who became the first British South Asian referee in the Premier League when he took charge of Crystal Palace vs Luton earlier this month.

Dowd is similarly part of the PGMOL development group, while he has also aimed to raise awareness about and promote the work of Parkinson's UK, the leading UK charity for people who suffer from the condition.

And Dowd, speaking to The Mirror, opened up on the challenges of his diagnosis, but insisted he continues to maintain a positive outlook on life.

'The specialist said to me: "You’ve got Parkinson’s,"' he explained. 'It hit me hard and I just thought: "s***." I didn’t want to admit that I had it in the first two years after I was diagnosed.

'At that stage, you don’t realise all the symptoms because you think you just shake a bit. But there’s so many other symptoms. Insomnia affects me badly. I can find it difficult to get out of the chair at times. Everything slows down. I joke about