European refereeing appointment for ‘best mate’ South Wales Police colleagues

From the thin blue line to the football touchline… two of our colleagues have notched up their latest European appearances as assistant referees in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds.

John Bryant, an incident risk and resolution officer in our control room (Public Service Centre), pictured left alongside close friend and fellow match official Lewiss Edwards, a response PC in Merthyr, ran the line during a game in Cyprus.

They officiated at APOEL Nicosia’s 1-0 second-leg win over Georgian outfit Dila Gori.

The game was the latest in a number of fixtures in Europe – and beyond – at which best mates John and Lewiss have been involved. The duo have been officiating together for around 13 years, fitting in regular games in the Welsh league system when they are not on duty in their full-time police jobs.

Lewiss said: “It was another fantastic experience representing our country abroad, with a great atmosphere from more than 12,000 supporters in Nicosia.

“John and I would like to thank our inspectors and chiefs for understanding our commitments and for allowing us to make this opportunity possible around our day jobs – it makes us feel truly valued and appreciated within our roles!”

John has previously talked to us about his officiating, as part of our #HumansOfSWP series.

He explained: “In terms of my work, every call is a different challenge. And then, when I’m on radios as a dispatcher, every incident is a different challenge.

“But my refereeing has helped give me a bit more of an insight as to how I can deal with tricky situations or where I need to react quickly to certain aspects of the job.”