Roberts ready for Dallas trip

The 21-year-old has been invited to officiate at the Dallas Cup in Texas, which will see him taking charge of the younger crops at teams like Arsenal, Manchester United, PSG and Barcelona.

Roberts, who normally runs the line at Evo-Stik level and refs in the York and Humber Premier leagues, is jetting out on Wednesday ahead of what he expects to be a great experience.

“It is an honour to have been picked to go to the Dallas Cup because there are only six of us going from England,” he said.

“Most of the referees in the Premier League went to the Dallas Cup, so it is a great opportunity.

“Going with us will be a Football League referee, two referees from the Conference and a professional referee coach, just so we can tap into their experience.

“The opening game is between Dallas Under-19s and Arsenal Under-19s, but there will be other clubs like Manchester United, PSG, Bayern and Barcelona, which will be amazing.

“I found out that I was going in December and I’ve been really looking forward to it ever since.

“It was an opportunity I didn’t expect to get, but obviously I’ve jumped at it.”

Roberts will be using this experience to help him push further through the refereeing rungs to the top level.

He added: “I currently ref in the York League and the Humber Premier, but I’ve hopefully got a lot of time left in the game.

“It is all about picking experience up from everyone you talk to or work alongside.

“I talk to Billy Burns a lot and a few other top level referees, who offer me advice.

“Hopefully in a few year’s time, I’ll be able to come back and do the same to local referees.”