It is often said that apples don’t fall far from the tree and that has certainly proven to be the case for Eddie Wyer, who is following in the footsteps of his father Martin as a football match official.

The Warwick Academy student is already punching above his weight after serving as an assistant referee on three occasions with his father in the middle.

The 15-year-old’s football journey began as a player with Valencia, Warwick Academy and X-Roads Warriors before his interests shifted to officiating, with his father factoring heavily in the decision.

“My dad has been a huge part in sparking my interest in officiating as I always thought being able to control a game was something highly impressive, and seeing my dad doing it every weekend inspired me to start doing the same a few years ago,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“Firstly, he is very helpful at home telling me points on where to improve and how to fix the mistakes, but on the pitch I feel very safe as his experience adds a sense of reassurance to the game.

“Despite him being my dad, I treat him as I would any other referee, staying respectful and taking points of advice wherever I can.”

The teenager started refereeing at various youth levels before being making the giant leap to the senior level and his ambitions extend far beyond Bermuda’s shores as he hopes to one day officiate on the international scene.

“My goals are to officiate at the Concacaf football tournament, being selected in the next few years with hard work and training from my dad and other experienced officials from on and off the island,” he said.

“If I continue officiating further into the future, I hope to be able to join the FIFA officiating list and referee at the World Cup.”

Father Martin is proud to see his son following in his footsteps and was surprised when he made the transition from playing to officiating.

“He played football for a short while and has always enjoyed and followed the game, but he never really expressed an interest until around three years ago when he told me he wanted to study and take the online course the Bermuda Football Association and the Bermuda Referees Association had put together for youth referees,” the respected official said.

“He did really well with the online learning and actually scored more than me on the final test.

“Eddie has only refereed children’s games up until very recently and he approached Crenstant Williams (BRA Committee chairman) to ask if he could be an assistant on more senior games.

Quite rightly, Crenstant advised him to come to the regular training sessions, which he did, and so far he has officiated Premier Division games with me in the middle.

“I am not sure if Bermuda has had a father and son officiate together before but I am sure someone with a long memory may know the answer to that.

“I may be biased, but he has done really well in the games he has done with me so far. I treat him just the same as any of the other assistant referees I work with and coach and mentor the same as I do with them.

“I ask him to concentrate on the core parts of being an assistant referee; first staying in line with the second-last defender for example, and the rest will come with experience.

“I also have to try and not be too hard on him just because he is my son. But he has done really well for someone who has never been an assistant referee before, which is a different skill and mindset to being in the middle.”