Darren Drysdale: Referee claims Alan Judge called him a ‘cheating bald c***’ as official given back-dated ban

Referee Darren Drysdale is free to officiate again after being given a backdated ban for improper conduct following his clash with Ipswich midfielder Alan Judge.

Drysdale locked heads with Judge when the player contested his decision not to award a penalty while he was refereeing a 0-0 draw with Northampton on February 16.

Drysdale, who admitted a breach of FA rules and apologised for his actions, has been handed a back-dated four-match suspension which ran from February 19 to March 10. The 49-year-old has also been warned about his future conduct.

At a hearing, an independent regulatory commission was told Judge swore at Drysdale and called him a “cheating bald c***”.

Drysdale said the abuse he received from Judge was "the worst he had experienced as a referee".

In the written reasons for the verdict published by the FA, Drysdale said he reacted to a “tirade of abuse” from Judge.

Drysdale said: “Alan Judge, in my opinion, exaggerates his fall in a desperate attempt to gain a penalty kick for his team. I then processed what had happened for a few seconds before blowing my whistle and decided to caution Alan Judge for an act of trying to deceive a match official.