He became a
Football League linesman in 1980 at the age of 28. In 1985, he missed out at the interview stage for a place on the referees list but was successful the following year. Very soon he showed his potential to be a leading referee and picked up a fair number of top division games. His progress was accelerated by
FIFA's decision to reduce its retirement age for referees to forty five. This provided new opportunities for a number of younger officials and Don was one of five promoted to the FIFA List in 1992. His appointment to that year's
FA Cup Final between
Liverpool and
Sunderland marked him out as a leader amongst the new crop of English international referees and he was to hold that status over the next few years. In a short time he made his mark on the international stage. When the original choice for the
1993-94 UEFA Champions League Final, Dutchman
John Blankenstein, had to withdraw, Don took charge of the game in
Athens, even though he had little over two years experience at that level. In the match,
Milan thrashed
Barcelona 4–0. He officiated in two matches in the
1994 World Cup: the quarter-final between
Sweden and
Romania in
Palo Alto, and the first-round game between
Saudi Arabia and
Morocco in
New Jersey. Don took charge of the
1995 League Cup Final but his career came to a premature end at the end of that season. He had to retire, five years early, as work commitments as a headteacher took priority. ==In retirement==