Clive Penton has no qualms about taking the field in front of a massive television audience at Wembley.

The referee from Woodingdean, near Brighton, will be running the line when Newcastle face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

It is the highlight of a career which began 14 years ago on a parks pitch in Worthing. And he made sure he got in first with an old footballing line as he revealed: "I'm over the moon about it. I found out a month ago and I was told it was well deserved. We'll be staying up in London tomorrow, then get to Wembley about lunchtime on Sunday, and that's when the old adrenalin will start flowing."

It has been a long road to Wembley for the 39-year-old, who is a Conference and Combination referee and a Nationwide League assistant. He was in charge on a raw night in October when Worthing won their fourth qualifying round replay at Dover.

And he was on the touchline for the second round tie between Bournemouth and Bristol City and the fourth round clash in which Charlton sneaked past QPR.

He admitted: "This is the biggest occasion I have been involved with and of course I will be nervous. I took up refereeing when I stopped playing at 26. A guy at work suggested it and I thought 'You must be joking'. But I took a course and passed it and then people started ringing up asking me to do games.

Penton never had his name noted either by a referee or a talent-spotter when he played in the Sussex Sunday League and realises he will miss out on any future moves to offer

professional contracts to match officials.

He nips out from his office in Hove three lunchtimes a week to go on training runs and said: "I've got a job and a pension with BT and I would have to consider that if I was asked to referee full-time. I don't think you can get any more professional than the guys who do the job at the moment.

No amount of extra hours, however, could prepare assistant referees for that moment when they are asked to do the physically impossible and judge an offside.

He insisted: "You don't worry too much about what they say about you on television and you don't hear what's going on in the crowd."

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