Ex-Premier League referee: Chiefs to blame after confirmed Everton controversy twist
The lack of accountability at the top of the PGMOL is to blame after Everton manager Frank Lampard was slapped with a £30,000 fine by the FA, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former head of the PGMOL and ex-Premier League and Fifa referee claimed if the organisation was more open then Lampard would not have questioned the integrity of an official.
The FA confirmed last week (31 May) that the 43-year-old had been given a fine for his conduct following Everton’s 1-0 loss away to Liverpool earlier this year (24 April).
Lampard suggested his side did not get a penalty for a challenge on Anthony Gordon because the game was at Anfield.
“One of the things I did as boss, with the Premier League, was to say 30 minutes after the game if the manager has any areas that he wanted to discuss, usually they were rubbish decisions, knock on the referee’s dressing room door and seek clarification,” Hackett told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“That I think is still in place. As a fail-safe, the manager goes in and is intransigent by the referee and is still unhappy then he’s got the match delegate.
“The match delegate is employed by the Premier League, a former referee, a former manager or a former player and he can echo his concerns.
“He can put in writing, via his chairman, to the board of the PGMOL, to say ‘I’ve got this complaint, it’s not been handed well, what can you do?’ I think Bill Kenwright has already done this.
“It gets back to the poor management style of the PGMOL. The stakeholders will always be critical of referees, no matter how they perform, that’s part and parcel of the game.
“The one way you enhance credibility, in my opinion, is going to the club and having a debate and giving your opinion. I did at David Moyes at Finch Farm.
“It’s almost run like they are saying ‘Don’t touch us in our ivory tower’. They create the problem, run back into the castle and draw up the draw bridge. The walls are four foot thick so they don’t hear anything.
“You have to be proactive, sell the quality of referees.”
In other news, Everton have made a move to sign a big-name forward and £20million will seal the deal.