The only Villa fan ref I can recall was Dennis Howell - later Minister for Sport, and the man who got us off being kicked out of the European Cup final.
Good men like him don't become refs or politicians anymore.
Yep, a Villa man through and through. Shame he was MP for Small Heath really.
However, when he moved into the House of Lords he chose the title Lord Howell of Aston.
And I think it was his family that owned the sweet shop opposite Handsworth Grammar in Grove Lane