Ex-Fifa chief: Liverpool set for official overhaul after confirmed Premier League news
Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League should be braced for an overhaul of referees, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa, Uefa and Premier League referee delivered his verdict after the PGMOL made a number of key appointments that could see the “ageing population” moved on.
The Premier League confirmed last week (8 December) that they Danielle Every, Dr Steve McNally and Dr Wayne Allison have become the PGMOL’s new chief operating officer, performance support director and coaching director, respectively.
It comes after Howard Webb took over the role as chief refereeing officer at the beginning of the month.
“Webb really does need to sit down and review the actual refereeing operations,” Hackett told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“Now, what have they done? They’ve brought in a former player in Wayne Allison. He’s a nice guy, I’ve been in his company. He took a degree from Sheffield Hallam University and Howard did a lot of his pre-World Cup training at Sheffield Hallam University.
“Wayne Allison’s degree was about performance and was around that intense performance and his knowledge of football is also there.
“What I like about his appointment is he won’t pull punches, has a football background and will be able to bring another view to proceedings on coaching referees.
“When we’ve looked at one or two of the referees at the World Cup, we’ve seen [Cesar Arturo] Ramos, the Mexican, move like a gazelle across the field of play and from that, accurate decision making.
“What I think is interesting is the other appoitnment. This is the doctor who worked with Man United.
“They’ve brought two guys in who are perforamnce related and come from a sports science background.
“This has been one of the weaknesses. One of the things that I expect those to do is help move along some of the ageing population among the referees in the Premier League.
“They can produce data that says ‘This guy, physically, is no longer up to it’. The problem is, if this guy passes the Fifa fitness test, then he’s fit to referee.”
In other news, Liverpool are in talks to sign a striker Jurgen Klopp has called “sensational”.