Early career Probert began refereeing in 1986, in leagues local to
Isle of Wight and later in the
Football Conference South. He was promoted to the assistant referees' list for
the Football League in 1998, and made the step up to full referee five years later. His first match after elevation to the Football League national list of referees was a
League Two encounter in August 2003 between
Northampton Town and
Torquay United. In May 2007, Probert refereed a
League One play-off semi-final second-leg which saw
Blackpool defeat
Oldham Athletic 3–1.
Professional career In July 2007 a press release from the
Professional Game Match Officials Board, which employs Premier League referees full-time, stated that Probert had been included in the
Select Group of 19 referees for the
2007–08 season. Prior to this, he had been trialled in the top-tier during the previous season, being appointed a fixture between
Sheffield United and
Portsmouth in January 2007 which ended in a 1–1 draw. Probert, as
fourth official, and the referee,
Mike Dean, were censured after
Arsène Wenger was sent to the stands for his reaction, including kicking a plastic bottle, to the ruling-out of an Arsenal goal for offside. The Premier League subsequently issued an apology to Wenger. In May 2010 Probert was the referee for the
FA Trophy final at
Wembley Stadium between
Barrow and
Stevenage Borough. He was appointed
fourth official for the
2011 FA Cup Final between
Manchester City and
Stoke City. In May 2014, Probert refereed the
FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium between Arsenal and
Hull City. Arsenal came back from 2–0 down to win the match 3–2 in extra-time. Probert missed the whole of the 2015/16 season due to injury. He returned to refereeing in August 2016 but despite remaining a member of the Select Group of Referees he did not take charge of a Premier League fixture until 1 April, 2017, when
Watford v
Sunderland became his first top flight appointment in almost two years. In January 2019, Probert refereed a match between Sunderland and Luton Town, awarding a contentious penalty and issuing two red cards, one of which was later overturned on appeal. In September 2019, Probert announced his retirement from refereeing due to a persistent back injury. On July 1, 2021, Probert was named Director of Referees at the United Arab Emirates Football Association based in Dubai. ==Statistics==