A-League referee Williams retires

Australia's most experienced football referee Ben Williams is hanging up his whistle.

Williams, 39, will make Tuesday night's friendly match Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur his final match on Australian soil, before finishing up as an international official at the end of the year.

His, harsh interpretative style often drew sharp criticism from A-League fans but led to senior international appointments, including the 2014 World Cup and the 2012 Asian Champions League final.

Williams retires with 161 Hyundai A-League matches, a record, and 24 NSL matches under his belt.

"I've been lucky to be a part of the transition into the professional era of the Hyundai A-League and now into fulltime professional refereeing ... Australian referees now have a real career pathway available to them," he said.

Football Federation Australia will announce his replacement on the full-time A-League referee panel before the season kicks off in October.