Premier League officials have come under severe criticism for the number of mistakes made in a number of matches this season, with referee and former referee Howard Webb being criticized.
Howard Webb told to resign as PGMOL director (Image: Getty Images)
Howard Webb has been told to resign following mounting criticism of Premier League referees. Webb has been a professional referee for 18 years, including 11 years in the Premier League, and is currently head of PGMOL.
He has played a central role in introducing a number of changes to the English game, including VAR. But that hasn’t softened criticism from match officials, with Chris Kavanagh’s failure to award a penalty in Newcastle’s match against Aston Villa this weekend overturned.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey insisted that while individual officials must face criticism, they are not the ones to blame. Instead, he believes referee Webb should step down from his current role.
He told The Sun: “We have some very good referees, so we need to focus on the clear lack of leadership, direction and management from top executives. That is the responsibility of Howard Webb, the head of PGMOL.”
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“Webb has been in this role for three years, but it wasn’t enough. Everyone has a shelf life and it’s time for him to take the next step.
“This is no different than when Reuben Amorim and Thomas Frank were sacked for poor performance. The standard of refereeing has declined and it has only gotten worse.”
“I’ve spoken to Premier League managers and I know they’re not happy with him. They’ll have to ask, ‘What has Webb done to improve standards?’
“If anything, it’s getting worse. I’ve been a football fan all my life. We want to talk about great players and goals, not referees who make bad calls every week.”
Howard Webb comes under fire following refereeing controversy (Image: Getty Images)
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Webb has regularly commented on numerous refereeing decisions. He appears on Match Officials Mic’d Up and often provides commentary on controversial decisions in the Premier League.
But Halsey isn’t the only player targeting Webb this season. Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola also called out Farai Haram after he failed to award a penalty in his first appearance against Wolves earlier this season.
“The referee (Hallam) made a great debut. Everyone will know him now. I think it’s the first time they ban the ‘normal’ position of the arm in front of the TV.
“Tomorrow Howard Webb will appear in the media and explain why it wasn’t a penalty and what he did against United. He’ll explain it as if it was the first time because there was a little bit of doubt.”
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