WHEN Keith Dunstan ran out of the tunnel onto the field of the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City to officiate the opening match between Mexico and the USSR in the 1970 World Cup, he was totally taken aback.

"There were 120,000 people there - it was amazing. The whole tournament was something to remember - simply great. It was something I will never forget," said Dunstan this week.

And to top it off, there was a large contingent of Bermudians in the Azteca Stadium for that opening match. "A lot of Bermudians went to Mexico for the World Cup in 1970 - many came with Joe Ferreira. Afterwards they all said to me 'why didn't you wave to me?!'

Dunstan was at the top of his sport in 1970 - a Grade One FIFA referee - and while there are some 72 referees and linesmen involved with the 2002 World Cup, in 1970 there were only 32. And they were treated superbly by FIFA, said Dunstan.

"We were in Mexico for five weeks. We went down there before the games started to get ready. Every morning between 9 and 12 noon we trained at a private tennis club. We had a German who trained with us on our physical conditioning and we also played some football. Then in the evenings we went to a college in Mexico City for lectures. We would go to class and put the headphones on - the classes were in all languages. We established how to interpert things."

Dunstan said it was important for all the referees to get on the samer page. "There was a difference on how the referees from South America would interpert things and how the referees from Europe would."

That opening match between Mexico and Russia ended up 0-0. "The first game was a very cautious game. But we had some good games after that," said Dunstan.

"The second game I did was between El Salvador and Mexico and there were some problems. The referee was from Egypt, Ali Kandil, and he ran into some problems because he made a bad decision. The ball went out and it was definitely El Salvador's throw. However a Mexican took a quick throw and they scored right from it. There was a big ruckus after the goal and it delayed the game a bit. But he (the referee) didn't come over to me so I could tell him what happened. He let the goal stand - he got hell for that later." Mexico ended up winning 4-0.

From Mexico City Dunstan then moved to the city of Toluca where he ran the line for the quarter-final showdown between Mexico and Italy which Italy won 4-1.

And when the officials were not involved with a particular match, they could be found in the stands.

"We were given tickets to all the matches. I can still see Pele scoring that goal in the final. If we were not refereeing we would be watching the matches," he said before producing a team picture of that great Brazilian side which won the World Cup. "All the players signed it," he added. Comparing refereeing now and back then, Dunstan said: "There's not really much difference between refereeing then and now except now there are a lot of new rules. They change the rules every time (there's a World Cup). But we had some good referees back then."

One difference he says, is the amount of diving there is in the game today. "It wasn't like it is now. I know FIFA have ordered a clampdown on the diving (in this World Cup). Players in those days wanted to get up and play. They wanted to be strong."

Asked who he was picking to win this year's World Cup, Dunstan laughed and said: "As a referee I always try and stay neutral. But I think France are still in there with a good chance. Germany are always there and Portugal have played well. I would like to see Portugal do well. As far as England go, I don't know what they will do. One thing which I find very different now from back in 1970 are the amount of friendly games they play before the World Cup. Back then they played amongst themselves but now there seems to be so many friendlies."

Dunstan also went to the World Cup in 1966 in England - but he was a spectator then. He remembers seeing England knock out Portugal but believes that Portugal have a better team this time around.

"I only paid 15 pounds for a complete set of tickets and they included the final," he added.

Dunstan stopped refereeing in 1971 and unfortunately it was on a sour note.

He explained: "At the time we had a run-in with the BFA - I was president of the Bermuda Referees Association. A number of our referees were being attacked during and after games - in fact one of the wives of a referee was threatened at home and a referee was beaten by a player with a crutch after a game. We demanded more protection and to put our point across we went on strike one weekend. The BFA took us to task for it and suspended and fined us. We held out for a couple of weeks and then paid our fine. But that sort of finished it for me as far as refereeing first class games goes. I did do some friendly games and youth games. I said I had enough."

However he kept his hand in and still gave lectures to referees.

Dunstan started his refereeing career in 1956. "At the time I played for BAA and we had just won the first FA Cup and went to tour the US. Unfortunately I ended up in hospital with a appendicitis and couldn't get in shape for the next season. (The late) Goose Gosling suggested I take some referee lectures which were being held at Prospect at the time. I went along and enjoyed them - I also realised I wasn't playing football according to the rules! I passed my exams and went along from there. I became a Grade Three referee, then a Grade Two and finally a Grade One referee."

He also remembered the best team Bermuda has ever put out. "Bermuda has had some good teams over the years. But the one that won the silver medal at the 1967 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg were very good," he said adding that he also refereed in those Pan Am Games as well.