To several thousand soccer players in the Garden State, Paul Carroll is a very familiar face.
For over 30 years Paul has been the ‘man in the middle’ at their soccer matches, officiating at every level from youth leagues through the amateur and semi-pro divisions.
Born in Bochum, Germany in 1941, Paul’s soccer career began as an 8-year old with the youth team for Borussia Dortmund, one of the foremost teams in Germany.
Soon after he immigrated to the U.S. At the age of 16 he joined a Major Division team in the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, one of the most respected amateur leagues in America. Within a few years he had caught the attention of the famed Philadelphia Ukrainians of the America Soccer League who recruited him to play for their side.
Due to a conflict with his work schedule, Paul had to turn down the invitation, but it did not end his soccer career.
During the 1960s he appeared in several international matches against top major division teams from the Bundesliega, including 1960 Munich.
In the early 1970s Paul’s soccer career brought him to the Schaefer Soccer League’s Southern Division where he eventually became Games Chairman in 1976. His committment to soccer also led him to join the referee association and eventually to the administrative level as 2nd Vice President of the State Soccer Referee Association.
By the early 1980s, Paul had become a memeber of the Garden State Soccer League where he continues to serve today as Arbiter for the N.J. Soccer Association and the Garden State Soccer League. He continues to be an active referee working close to 100 games a season at the amateur and youth level.
Now a grandfather of two boys he hopes will follow his love for soccer and play the “beautiful game,” Paul lives in Bucks County, PA where he has become of the most respected referees throughout the Central Jersey area…and all of New Jersey.
