London, Jun 28 (AFP) A former referee in English football's elite Premier League has admitted to going along with a request to deliberately book a player back in 2011.

Mark Halsey, who retired at the end of the 2012/13 season, told CNN Sport on Thursday: "(The player) just said 'listen, look, we've got a game Tuesday.

"If I don't get cautioned now and get one Tuesday, I'll miss the big derby on the Saturday," he added.

"So he just asked me if I could show a yellow. And I did actually.

"I said to him, 'Alright, we've got 10 minutes to go, when I give a free-kick against you' -- and I knew I would because he's that sort of player -- 'just leather the ball 50 yards away and I can caution you for dissent'.

"If you've got big games coming up and you're on four yellow cards, one more means you get suspended. I just said to him, 'Don't do nothing stupid.'

"He came up to me at the end of the game and said, 'Thanks for that Mark.'" (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)