Referees are under more scrutiny than ever, especially in televised games such as today's showdown on Tyneside.

But Barnsley-based official Trelford Mills wishes that had been the case more than 30 years ago.

If it were, he reckons he would have a far easier time at the hands of disgruntled Geordies.

Mills famously, or infamously, disallowed two late Newcastle goals in an FA Cup third round replay as Albion nicked a 1-0 success at St James's Park in January, 1983.

The Seagulls defended strongly for much of the contest, had one of the best players on the pitch in midfielderJimmy Case and won the tie with a Peter Ward strike.

Imre Varadi and Kevin Keegan both had the ball in the net late on beneath a packed, swaying and seething Gallowgate End terrace. But on each occasion Mills had blown before the finishing touch was applied He said he spotted handball by Varadi as he turned to poke a shot past Graham Moseley.

Then, as a youthful Chris Waddle floated a cross to the far side of the box, Mills whistled for what he saw as a shove by Jeff Clarke on Michael Robinson.

The whistle could clearly be heard just before Keegan then headed in.

Neither Varadi's hand nor Clarke's push were particularly evident on the BBC highlights.

Which was pretty much Mills' point as he reflected on subsequent decades of banter, to put it mildly, from Toon fans.

"In my head I know I made two correct decisions that day," Mills later said.

"I didn't for a moment worry about what people were going to say.

"The only unfortunate thing is there wasn't a lot of cameras there to pick them up. If there had been, everyone would have seen what I saw."

Mills needed a police escort to get him away from St James's Park that night.

Albion, heading towards relegation from the top division, went on to reach the FA Cup final while Newcastle narrowly missed out on promotion.

They got there a year later and, as fate would have it, celebrated on the final day by beating Albion 3-1 in Keegan's final league match (pictured below).

The Argus:

That was a special day for the Geordies. But Mills is still remembered just as vividly in the North East.

To add to their frustration, Neil McDonald cracked a volley against the bar in the second half and Terry McDermott shot straight at Moseley when clean through.

Actually. It was a pretty untidy game for long periods.

Albion, with Gary Stevens showing a steely defensive side to his game with which he is probably not associated years later, nicked the win around the hour mark.

Robinson did some strong work in possession, Neil Smillie crossed and John Anderson's woeful clearance went straight to the predatory Ward, who shot low past Kevin Carr.

(With thanks to the Newcastle Chronicle for pictures)