Former refereeing boss Keith Hackett has called for the removal of Premier League referees Andre Marriner, Lee Probert, Lee Mason, Chris Foy and Mike Jones at the end of the season.
Hackett told the BBC the refereeing standards over the holiday schedule were “bordering on appalling” while calling for the demotion of the five referees while also stating current refereeing chief Mike Riley should step down.
“I am criticizing very strongly, The performances of the referees are not acceptable. He [Riley] must carry the responsibility.” | Mike Hackett, former PGMOL referee chief
In this forum he is clearly preaching to the RedCardTheRef choir, but Hackett’s criticism should provide some relief for fans of teams like Swansea who must be convinced there is a conspiracy against their side.
Swansea manager Garry Monk was one of several managers in the Premier League whom has spoken out several times against the substandard officiating. He was incensed once again on New Years Day after Wayne Routledge’s controversial red card against Queen’s Park Rangers by referee Anthony Taylor.
“I am losing a little bit of faith,” said Monk. “I’m limited on what I can say and I’m tired of it. It’s hard when we are constantly getting decisions like this. It sounds like me moaning but I don’t want to be talking about it, I only care about the football.”
Routledge was ejected from the match in the 86th minute for his reaction too a serious leg breaking-tackle from opponent Karl Henry. The red card was eventually rescinded after a review.
Swansea weren`t the only side to be victimized by New Years Day and holiday refereeing as we documented in a recent post.
Predictably, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have rejected Hackett’s claims and noted in their response that the accuracy of major decisions has actually gone up from 94.1 per cent to 95 per cent while their conditioning has also improved.
Which referee deserves to go? Anthony Talor and Neil Swarbrick currently lead our our poll for worst Premier League referee but their leads are slim. Cast your vote and send the PGMOL a message. Share this poll with your supporters club and social media friends as well:
Who is the worst referee in the English Premier League? Total Voters: 927
Kevin friend is no friend of Sunderland. He is the worst of a bad bunch