Tuesday 5 May 2015 Four weeks before officiating at the biggest match of his career, the referee for this year’s FA Cup Final Jon Moss presided over another eagerly anticipated football fixture, at a Leeds school. At The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL), a staff team took on a team of sixth form students for charity. The match had all the drama of a top flight match in front of a capacity crowd, both teams approaching the game with real intent. Premier League ref Jon had to be at the top of his game and employ all the tools of his trade, a particular highlight being the use of the vanishing spray as pupils formed a wall to defend a free kick. The game was settled in the dying minutes of the second half as the organiser of the match, PE teacher Marcus Sharrad, scored a penalty, sending goal keeper Jacob Ziff, upper sixth, the wrong way to clinch a 1-0 victory for the staff team. Jon said: “Having seen the staff team preparing I was expecting a competitive match and there were certainly a few tackles thrown in. It was played in good spirit and I was very happy to help out for a good cause.” Thanks to the paying spectators and other donations, the event raised a grand total of £1,132 for Muscular Dystrophy UK, the charity which supports the 70,000 people living with muscle-wasting conditions in the UK. Marcus said: “A huge thank you to all the staff and students who took part as players as well as everyone who donated. The match was a great spectacle for the school in support of a very good cause.” General Senior School Sixth Form
