Latest news with #HowardWebb
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
What is PGMOL's appointments policy?
Former referee Chris Foy explained it can be tricky for officials to be allotted a fixture based on current Villa have complained to referees' body PGMOL about Thomas Bramall after he made a "big mistake" in their 2-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday that contributed to them missing out on the Champions Game Match Officials Limited told BBC Sport it does not comment on why individual appointments for matches are to the PGMOL appointments policy, all match officials must submit a declaration of interests form before the start of each officials, video assistant referees and assistant video assistant referees are only eligible to officiate games that do not involve a club for which they have a conflict of includes clubs they support, have played competitive matches for at first-team level or clubs from the same town or city, excluding London, where the official policy also states officials cannot be involved in a match that directly involves a club "which has a strong association with a club for which an interest has been declared".It is up to PGMOL's discretion to determine if a club has a strong association with that other chief refereeing officer Howard Webb can also vary the appointments at his discretion.
Daily Mirror
04-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Howard Webb ready to issue ultimatum to Premier League clubs over referees
Premier League clubs are set to discover a new demands from PGMOL's Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb as the body records yet another loss amid the elevating costs of VAR Howard Webb is set to tell Premier League clubs that they must invest in long-term budgets if they want to see best in class officiating in the division. The Professional Match Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief will reportedly announce new losses of almost £1million next week. PGMOL, the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional English football, appears to be haemorrhaging cash. And Chief Refereeing Officer Webb is to reveal losses of £900,000, per the Telegraph That figure comes in additions to losses suffered last year that saw a £379,000 figures adjusted to £1.8 million. That means the group now have a loss of £3.4m totalled over the last three years. With that in mind, it is claimed that Webb will inform top-flight clubs that in order to get the highest standard of officiating they will need to increase their budgets. And PGMOL could yet have more financial undertakings to come. The body have been forced to make plans to cover a possible tax bill from HMRC that could yet arriving following a decade-long legal issue, the report adds. That has seen proceedings head to the Supreme Court over a case that will determine whether lower league referees can be treated as self-employed or not. As well as renewed financial concerns and scrutiny PGMOL is set to for internal change to be introduced by Webb. Referees could soon find themselves being relegated from Premier League responsibilities. Officials who form part of select group one could soon find themselves outside of that if they do not deliver on the pitch. This forms part of wider restructure. Select group one is also set to merge with select group two, the group who officiate matches in the Championship, League One and League Two. PGMOL is joint-owned by the Premier League, the Football League and Football Association. At a recent meeting of 350 officials, referees learned change was coming. The 20 select group one refs discovered they can fall down the hierarchy. The last official to suffer that ignominy was Stuart Attwell when he was temporarily demoted in 2012. There is now said to be a determination to fast-track the best young officials however, particularly those involved in the elite referee development plan including figures such as Sam Barrott, Lewis Smith and Sam Allison. VAR's introduction has added greater scrutiny than ever but also seen an immense rise in costs. A combination of millions in fees and hundreds of work hours has added additional strain, while funding for officials has stagnated. PGMOL's budget is said to be in the region of £33m. Webb and chief operating officer Danielle Every want to agree a multi-year deal with the body's beneficiaries as they currently work year to year with reserves covering losses.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Howard Webb 'will announce losses of £900,000 at PGMOL' - as referees chief 'prepares to tell clubs' they must increase budgets if they want the highest standard of officiating
PMGOL chief Howard Webb is set to announce losses of nearly £1millon at the body, according to a report. The body, full name Professional Game Match Officials Limited, is responsible for refereeing matches in England, including the Premier League, but continues to bleed money and will post major losses again this year. According to The Telegraph, losses of £379,000 last year have been adjusted to £1.8million, taking the total sum over the last three years to close to £3.4m. Scrutiny is regularly aimed at the body, though increased transparency has been targeted with regular communication methods including explaining decisions in real-time on social media, trialling giving referees microphones during games and a regular referees show which Webb appears on to show and explain decisions. There are, though, inconsistencies, with the report suggesting a camera would regularly disappear at one ground early on in the VAR era and that camera coverage is inconsistent from stadium to stadium in the top flight. The main issues, though, are believed to be financial, with it also suggested that PGMOL have made plans to cover a potential tax bill from HMRC, which surrounds a debate over whether lower-league referees can be classed as self-employed. It has lasted a decade and has gone to the Supreme Court. There continue to be complaints over refereeing standards in the league, with a decision overturned as recently as Evanilson being sent off against Manchester United last week. There is, though, reportedly a belief from within that the standards have been high since Luis Diaz's goal against Tottenham in late 2023 was incorrectly ruled out for offside. Yet, with money being lost year on year, Webb is reportedly set to tell clubs that they must increase long-term budgets if they want the highest standard of officiating. A recent introduction to the Premier League, meanwhile, is semi-automated offsides, which was introduced in April. So far, there have been no major complaints, but it is suggested that some officials are worried about the technology, which is provided by Genius Sports and uses different staff to Hawk-Eye. That means there are concerns both on and off the field in terms of the body, from financial to the use of technology. Earlier this year, meanwhile, David Coote was sacked after he was videoed criticising Jurgen Klopp and admitted to taking drugs. It is also reported that two psychologists for top referees left PGMOL at the start of the year and have not been replaced.
The Guardian
12-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Semi-automated offside VAR to be trialled in FA Cup fifth round
Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is set to be trialled in the FA Cup fifth round next month with a view to it being introduced in the Premier League before the end of the season. The Guardian has learned that the FA has agreed to run an experiment with the new technology, which has been delayed due to teething problems in the testing process. The Premier League planned to introduce SAOT, which was first used at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, last autumn but officials were unhappy with its accuracy during testing in stadiums. It is understood that the technology has been refined and its effectiveness improved considerably in the last month however, with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb and the Premier League's chief football officer, Tony Scholes, both giving their approval. The FA Cup fifth-round draw has thrown up the opportunity for an extended trial as seven of the eight ties will take place at Premier League grounds, with the other at Championship club Preston. The Premier League hopes that SAOT technology can reduce the time to confirm offside decisions in the event of a VAR intervention by more than 30 seconds. The system uses camera footage and tracking software to calculate the position of players at the moment of a potential offside, removing the need for VAR teams to manually add lines to still images. VARs may still be required to assess offside decisions in the event of a goal being scored, depending on the complexity of the assessment. Clubs voted unanimously to introduce the technology at a Premier League meeting last April, and have been frustrated by the delay. The Premier League will inform clubs of the trial at its shareholders' meeting in London on Thursday. Scholes admitted last week he had been concerned about the reliability of the technology until recent improvements. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season [with SAOT testing] I had severe doubts,' Scholes said. 'But the progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant. We believe we're going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system.'
