from confronting Wolstenholme in his dressing room by five police officers. The referee would only say: "Striking an opponent is a red-card offence and it doesn't matter what you strike him with. Things will have to go through the proper channels now and I'll probably look at it again." Despite this, the red card was eventually confirmed, although Everton did manage to prevent Wolstenholme from being involved during their match against Bolton 21 days later, Matt Messias replacing him as fourth official. On 12 February 2003, he was fourth official during the 3–1 home defeat for England against Australia in a friendly match at Upton Park, London. This was the most notable appointment throughout his sparse international involvement. After the 2–0 home win by Millwall over Coventry in the Football League Championship on 5 May 2003, Wolstenholme retired from refereeing, having officiated for only two seasons in the Premiership. He then took up the role of a referees' assessor. While in that position prior to a Premier League match between Burnley and Newcastle United at Turf Moor in November 2018, Wolstenholme suffered a heart attack. The match was delayed by 30 minutes and he was hospitalised. He was later required to have heart bypass surgery. Retirement and family life Wolstenholme carried out the trade of engineering fitter in Preston, Lancashire, before briefly becoming a full-time paid referee from 2001 until his retirement in 2003. He has since become Referees' Officer for the Lancashire County Football Association. He still lives in the Pleckgate area of Blackburn, with his wife, Fiona, and they have two children, a son and a daughter. References External links Eddie Wolstenholme Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com (from 1997 only) English football referees Premier League referees 1954 births People from Blackburn Living people Bamber Bridge F.C. players Association footballers not categorized by position English footballers