Mike Riley will step down as English football’s referees’ chief at the end of next season.
It comes after i revealed that refereeing in England is set for a radical shake-up following complaints from Premier League clubs over what they believe is a decline in standards.
Riley, the managing director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) for the past 13 years, has come under pressure from club executives critical of the state of refereeing and high-profile mistakes. Discontent centres around the implementation of Video Assistant Referees technology introduced in 2018.
“I am proud of the contribution our match officials have made to the professional game and have enjoyed working with a such a dedicated, professional and high-quality group at all of the levels that PGMOL manages,” Riley said.
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“I look forward to working with the new team over the next season and giving them my support before I step down.”
The PGMOL will now look to appoint a chief refereeing officer to oversee development of officials, and a chief operating officer to manage organisational administration.
Howard Webb, the former Premier League referee, has been mooted as a replacement, although he currently holds a similar position in Major League Soccer.
PGMOL is currently finalising 21 other new appointments. A raft of roles have been created and others added to existing departments as part of the new Elite Referee Development Plan.
The recruitment drive represents an overhaul of the system and one source hoped it would “change the face of refereeing”.
Traditionally, the FA has insisted referees climb the ladder from grass roots to the professional game, which can take over a decade and is poorly paid at lower levels, but it is thought a new system could fast-track talented officials. There have also been calls for the PGMOL to proactively find former players interested in becoming officials.
As part of the revolution, three of this summer’s four retiring top-flight referees have taken new roles in the PGMOL.
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The pool of professional referees is split into four “select groups” determining the level they officiate. Jon Moss, 51, a referee of 23 years who took charge of an FA Cup final, will be select group one manager.
Kevin Friend, 50, a Premier League referee for 13 years who refereed FA and League Cup finals, will manage select group two.
Martin Atkinson, 51, who joined the Football League in 1995 and went on to referee FA Cup and Europa League finals, is to become a select group one coach.
Other new positions include a performance support director, a coach director, an assistant referee coach, a Human Resources executive and performance specialists, including a sports scientist and psychologist.
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