Ex-Fifa official has major concern as Sunderland set for referee overhaul
Keith Hackett has admitted he has one major concern after it was revealed Kevin Friend will be in charge of the referees appointed to games involving Sunderland and the rest of the Championship in 2022-23.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee questioned how Friend has been able to walk into the role straight after retiring as a top-flight official.
The Telegraph reported last week (21 June) that the 50-year-old has become the fourth high-profile referee to retire this summer.
He has taken up the newly-created role as manager of the select group two who take control of Championship games.
“The thing that worries me is, what process did the PGMOL go through to appoint that individual?” Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Is he the best person for the job? Did he actually sit down and go through an interview process and were others invited?
“The dilemma I see in this is where is Mike Dean? He’s probably going off to do television and various other things.
“I just feel that if the group of referees have not been performing well, it’s like saying to a bus driver that next week you are in Monte Carlo for the F1 race.
“We’ve got to understand that the Premier League is not a place for people to be given a role to extend their pension.
“Train them to be assessors and give them that level. For me, it’s about accountability and I’m thinking what can Kevin Friend add to the role?
“Here we’ve got is a group of referees, SG2, who are Championship referees who are professional who needed to be driven and uncomfortable.
“By that I mean, how long are you on the SG2? For me it’s a maximum of two years with 20 Championship games over two years to prove whether you are capable of advancing.
“These are auditions. If they just say ‘You’re comfortable, 50-odd years old and doing a good job. I don’t think that’s the role of SG2.
“This is like having a reserve team and keeping that reserve team fresh.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Sunderland could now name a new CEO and sanction a “big” investment.