Howard Webb told to order PGMOL rule changes after Michael Oliver’s ‘clear and obvious’ Aston Villa error
PGMOL boss Howard Webb needs to change the ruling around Premier League referees’ time off to reduce fatigue and make sure they are operating at the highest level at all times.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Michael Oliver, along with the likes of Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh, should also be taken off VAR duty as they are at their best as referees.
Those three officials are seen as England’s finest, with each overseeing games at the highest level of the club game, the Champions League, both this season and in years gone by.
Hackett told Football Insider last week that Oliver had allowed a “clear and obvious error” to stand when on VAR as Burnley‘s Zian Flemming was allowed to stay on the field for an elbow on Aston Villa‘s Emi Buendia.
PGMOL’s Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has now been told to make changes to the top referees’ schedules and duties in order to preserve the highest standards in the top-flight going forward.
Top Premier League officials have many duties across the board
Hackett told Football Insider that Oliver should have used his wealth of experience to send Andrew Kitchen to the VAR monitor last week, and that he is best served as the man in the middle rather than overseeing proceedings at Stockley Park.
He is a part of a number of English referees on FIFA’s International List of Match Officials, with him, Taylor and Kavanagh all picked to regularly oversee Champions League games.
The likes of Dan Cook, Gary Beswick, John Brooks, Rob Jones and Andy Madley are often appointed to midweek European games as assistants or fourth officials too, as well as officiating in the Premier League on weekends.
Big decisions at the highest level in England are being questioned and scrutinised even further with each passing week, and Hackett thinks it is about time that some change is enforced to help referees rest and recover properly, as well as to get the best out of their specific abilities.
Keith Hackett wants PGMOL rule change on referees officiating top games and time off
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about what changes must be made, the former referee said: “The foundation of my argument starts with the view that VAR should be a specialist role, and that’s all they do. The reasoning behind that is because, when I was the boss of the PGMOL, I set up that we had assistant referees and that is all they did.
“They had to sign off that they were going to be an assistant referee. Full stop. That put them in a mindset, with the training and the developments, like every other sport, that the more you do it, the better you become.
“I think the game as a whole and the PGMOL as a whole, are served much better when you have our top referees officiating the top games, so therefore I’m quite clear on that.“
He also commented on top referees needing more leeway when it comes to recovery between matches, saying: “I think also within that is the understanding that, because they (Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh) are world class, they’re taking big games in Europe. For me, when that is the case, then they should only be expected to officiate a game on the next Monday, or in the following week.
“This is about looking after the match officials and ensuring that they are not fatiguing. If we look at players, they get on a coach and are driven to an airport, they sit on a private jet and away they go.
“It’s not the same for referees. Often, Michael Oliver will be going to Newcastle airport, no doubt, then he may well be flying from there to Heathrow, then into Europe. For me, I think this is about focusing on what they are the best at, and that is refereeing in the middle.”