The evolution of referees in the English Premier League

ABSTRACT

Despite their importance, referees are an often overlooked part of professional football. Referees are an integral part of the global game and are required for fixtures to take place and competitions to occur. The English Premier League (EPL) provides a unique backdrop to consider the development of referees within the league, from the formation up until the present day. Referees have dealt with numerous changes, developments and technological advancements and continue to operate and perform at the highest level, required to officiate in the EPL. However, the continued growth of the EPL has also led to associated challenges for referees and a constant presence in the media with their decisions scrutinized in detail. This article considers the evolution of refereeing in the EPL, examines some of the most significant changes that have impacted upon refereeing and identifies some of the current challenges and opportunities that might exist for refereeing in the EPL.

Introduction

The formation of the English Premier League (EPL) in 1992 has led to unprecedented growth in English football. Clubs have seen sponsorship income grow with every passing season, and collectively negotiated television agreements have seen deals brokered that have increased rapidly since the first television deal with BskyB.¹ Players have seen their transfer fees rise to unparalleled levels, alongside their wages, and managers/coaches have observed an increasingly lucrative profession, albeit a profession that is precarious and results related.² As a consequence of the increased financial investment in the game, stakeholders have seen the demand for success increase, with the rewards for winning and the implications of losing never as important as they are today.³

Central to all of this are the referees, the individuals who uphold the laws of the game, who maintain authenticity and who make the decisions, which can be the difference between winning and losing. These referees have also been on a journey of evolution.⁴ They have become professional, full-time match officials. They have seen law changes and adaptations in the EPL and in European and international competitions to which they must adapt. Technological introductions have impacted their training, development and on pitch performance, whilst the professional support networks around these referees have expanded, as more is demanded from them by players, coaches/managers, spectators and media commentators.⁵ Referees are therefore central to the modern game. Many of these referees have become household names in the EPL, which is operating in a global market in terms of the number of countries to which the matches are broadcast.⁶ This increased exposure has led to a concerted focus on the conduct of referees, a fascination with their decision-making capabilities and performance and a focus on any on-field and off-field support that they might be offered in order to enhance their perceived effectiveness.

Given this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that technology was controversially introduced into the EPL with the agendas and competing interests of different stakeholders such as FIFA, UEFA, fan groups, the EPL, clubs and managers evident in the journey towards this introduction. The technology was approved and installed with a central aim of ‘supporting’ referees in their decision making and overall performance. The 2013/14 season saw the addition of goal line technology in the EPL with the technology utilized at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, despite FIFA previously disagreeing with the introduction of goal line technology, even supporting the use of additional assistant referees on the goal line ahead of prioritizing its instatement.⁷ Goal line technology is now an established part of matches in the EPL and was joined in the 2019/20 season by video assistant referees (VAR), with varying and debatable levels of success.⁸ Consequently, this paper examines the development and evolution of referees and the structures in which they function and have operated during the EPL era, considering the wider changes to which they have had to adapt and the associated impact upon these referees. Focus is given to the major developments in officiating the most recent adaptations such as goal line technology and VAR and the challenges that these innovations have brought, particularly related to the elevated media attention that an increasingly globalized EPL has cultivated. Referees in the EPL have evolved considerably, and it is important to initially understand this development and the role of the EPL in these changes.

How the development of the EPL impacted upon referees

The formation of the EPL ushered in an extended period of change that altered English football almost unrecognizably from the game that existed. The early seasons of the EPL meant restructuring and reorganization, and this also meant, through the increased sponsorship and television income, elevated prize money for those teams competing in the EPL and for those teams ultimately succeeding in the EPL, all due to the increasingly globalized nature of the EPL as a product. However, this increased prize money and rewards for success also brought additional pressure for managers, coaches,⁹ players,¹⁰ clubs¹¹ and referees.¹²

The pressure for referees to arrive at the right decision became more important as the rewards for winning and losing increased. This meant that the focus on referee preparation and performance gained attention from both those individuals involved with elite referee training and development and the stakeholders of the league themselves, namely the chairpersons of the EPL clubs who form the board of the EPL.¹³ This increased focus, alongside the advancements in referee preparation and performance provided challenges and opportunities for those individuals involved with EPL referees. The opportunities for referees included increased funding and evolving support networks (e.g. technical training and performance support and psychological support), designed to help the referees improve their on-field performances.¹⁴ Due to the external pressure and scrutiny, alongside recognition from organizations, such as the English Football Association and the Referee’s Association, training provision evolved and the formation of the EPL acted as a catalyst for the professionalization of this training. Training was focused on the physical programmes that referees require in order to perform in the EPL, the technical training that was believed to be important and also psychological provision, although this aspect of the training evolved later than that of the physical and technical components, and this was also evident in the extant academic literature.¹⁵

Whilst the training of referees has evolved alongside the professionalization and continued development of football, particularly since the second world war (evidenced, at least in part, by the reduction in home advantage in all English professional leagues since WW II), the formation of the EPL accelerated and intensified the need for referees to be supported in their training.¹⁶ The increasing quality of this training was supported financially by the formation of the EPL and in 2001 by the introduction of full-time, professional referees who were dedicated entirely to officiating. Until this point, referees were often part-time and had other occupations that supplemented their careers as referees in the EPL, a situation which is still evident in many other countries around the world and in lower league professional football in England.¹⁷ This move to professional, full-time referees was a significant step forward for the EPL and for the increasing evolution of referees in the EPL to which this paper new turns.

Professional/full-time referees

England became one of the first countries around the world to move to a system that incorporated full-time referees in their top league.¹⁸ The funding for these referees comes from the EPL itself, with associated income also being provided by the Football Association (FA) and the English Football League. These organizations form a tripartite body entitled the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which was formed and is housed at the EPL head offices in London with the primary purpose of improving refereeing standards through the management, training and development of the referees who were selected to form the ‘Select Group’, recruited to officiate principally in the EPL.¹⁹ This group has recently been expanded to include the ‘Select Group 2’ who have been recruited to feed into ‘Select Group 1’ and who officiate primarily in the Championship; the league that operates underneath the EPL in the English professional league structure. These referees are also full-time, professionals with any movement between the two groups decided by match assessments, training and performance tests, all of which lead to merit tables measuring individual performance.

The extension of the full-time support for referees through the formation of both the Select Group 1 and Select Group 2 demonstrates the increased financial provision and by association, the importance attached to refereeing performance. For example, turnover for PGMOL at the end of the 2002/2003 season was £4.8 million, and by the end of the 2018/2019 season, turnover had increased to £20.3 million;²⁰ an inflationary increase within this time period would have seen turnover increase to £7.6 million, evidencing significantly increased investment above inflation in refereeing over this time period. What has occurred in line with this increased financial investment is the associated accountability within the referee workforce, evidenced through the use of metrics such as merit tables, introduced to measure and track referee performances across a season. This merit table is used for developmental and training purposes and also to place referees at fixtures, particularly fixtures between teams who are at the top and bottom of the EPL table and those fixtures which might be played between teams who are competing for European places.

Additionally, and related to the measurement of performance for full-time, professional referees is the tracking of referee physical performance against the comparable physical performance of players in the EPL.²¹ This comparison involves the number of sprints a referee undertakes during a match, the movement of the referee and their coverage of the pitch. This information is gathered using a variety of mechanisms comprising of GPS measurements and statistical data collected by partners of the EPL such as Prozone and Opta. The data is used to monitor referee movement, compare against decision making during a match and also benchmark their performances.

This accountability of performance can also be seen through the physical tests that referees have to take and pass in order to officiate in the EPL. These tests are in place to ensure referees are physically able to officiate EPL fixtures and exist not only in the EPL but other leagues around the world,²² with physical tests also evident in UEFA and FIFA competitions for referees that have been selected to officiate in those competitions.²³ The FIFA fitness test and minimum standards of fitness for FIFA referees was introduced in 1974, also assisting in raising the fitness standards in countries around the world, including England. In England, referees are assessed throughout their careers and in their progression through the levels and leagues up to the EPL, with physical tests introduced for any promotion to Level 4 and above (see Elite soccer referees: Officiating in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A for more details).²⁴

Alongside this physiological support and training, psychological provision is also offered in the EPL. This psychological support was introduced given the demanding nature of the role of referees in the EPL and to assist referees in their preparation, performance and evaluation. Most notably, psychological support and an emphasis on mental toughness can help referees to deal with mistakes and errors made during a match and can also assist referees to move on after a high-profile incident may have occurred.²⁵ The PGMOL was one of the first refereeing organizations that promoted and initiated psychological provision for the EPL referees, a process which also included the recruitment of a full-time sports psychologist.²⁶ This psychological provision for elite referees varies markedly across leagues and countries, with some referee groups outside of the EPL afforded no recognized psychological training or provision at all.²⁷

Alongside the increased support, training and management structures around referees in the EPL,²⁸ other developments in the wider game have also directly affected referees. These developments have brought referee decision making into sharp focus and, particularly, how decision-making accuracy can be improved in order to achieve an increased number of correct decisions per match.²⁹ In order to compensate for any limits to the decision-making perception of referees, which may potentially cause errors of judgement, different technological officiating aids have been introduced over a number of years.³⁰ The devices that have been introduced can be categorized into three groups: (1) those that support referees in decision making; (2) devices that replace referees’ decisions; and (3) devices that help referees enforce the laws of the game (such as vanishing spray used to mark distances at free kicks).³¹ VAR can be classified into the first category, whereas goal line technology can be classified into the second category. This evolution of physical testing and training support, alongside the clamour for the introduction of technology identified here, ‘… appears to be merely a consequence of the win-at-all-cost attitude brought into elite amateur and professional soccer … with the alleged loss of fame and/or fortune associated with some isolated, singled-out referee decisions’.³²

Goal line technology

The financial rewards for EPL clubs, players and coaches through increased sponsorship and television revenue have led to heightened accountability. As the sport has moved from an amateur pastime to professional occupation, the connected appeal as well as economic significance increased. During the nineteenth and twentieth century, sports accepted and welcomed professionalism. This meant that sports became more commercially aware, with football the most prominent example of this globalized commercialization.³³

The cultivation of the relationship between football and television is perhaps the most notable example of this commercialization and wider appeal of the game. The rapid advancement in televisual technology has led to countless commercial opportunities. The introduction of Independent Television and the ensuing competition with the BBC³⁴ was to become a precursor for regular competition around the rights to televise football matches over the coming years.³⁵ This competition over television rights led to significant increases in the global coverage of the EPL, with the EPL broadcast by 80 different networks, watched in 212 countries by 4.7 billion people and in 643 million homes.³⁶ This coverage led to increasing monetary values associated with these broadcast rights. The value of overseas rights in the 2019–2022 television rights auction period rose to £4.35bn, despite a drop-off in the value of domestic rights.³⁷ Research also demonstrates that substantial increases in league revenue have been well documented across European football in recent years alongside reductions in competitive balance, most notably in the EPL.³⁸

The increase in media exposure has, in turn, led to a perceived increase in pressure for referees that can be closely aligned with the increased financial aspect now an integral part of the game. Teams in lower leagues strive to achieve promotion to the EPL for the sporting challenge and also the revenues that have reached unprecedented levels.³⁹ This ensures the difference between winning and losing, from a financial perspective, is even more stark, and ensures greater attention on referees and their on-field decision making. This attention has predominantly been through the media and in particular television coverage of contentious decisions, the replays of such incidents and the analysis of these incidents that invariably follows. This scrutiny has led to a prolonged clamour for increased accountability for the decisions made by referees in the EPL. Moreover, this has meant that refereeing organizations, such as PGMOL in the EPL, confederations such as UEFA and organizations such as FIFA, have identified areas that can be considered for improvement to assist referees on the field of play.

One such development has been the introduction of goal line technology. Goal line technology was introduced into the EPL in the 2013/14 season with Hawkeye selected as the company to provide and manage the system.⁴⁰ Even before the initiation of goal line technology, there were seemingly endless discussions about the merits of its introduction.⁴¹ Moreover, cost was identified as prohibitive to the implementation, particularly at lower levels of the game,⁴² and this is the primary reason for the situation that has transpired. The top professional leagues in most countries have introduced goal line technology, including the EPL, whereas other professional leagues that operate below these premier divisions in a given country do not have the finances to instal and operate the goal line technology systems.

One of FIFA’s original concerns about the introduction of goal line technology was that any such introduction would ultimately lead to other forms of technology and therefore potential changes to the laws of the game.⁴³ Then, UEFA President, Michel Platini, even commented that if goal line technology was introduced that it would lead to offside technology and penalty area technology,⁴⁴ something which has occurred in the EPL and in other leagues around the world, as authorities have adopted VAR systems following trials by FIFA in the men’s World Cup in Russia in 2018.⁴⁵ It has also been claimed that despite the eventual move towards additional technology in football, with the EPL being a relatively early adopter of this technology, supporters of football clubs often accept that referees will make incorrect decisions and that refereeing controversies are part of football.⁴⁶

Interestingly, some of the concerns around the supporter experience at live matches when in the stadium have been predicted.⁴⁷ The influence of technology in the stadium has been discussed by Cairns,⁴⁸ who warned that supporters at live sporting events might have their experience distorted with incidents potentially disturbing their enjoyment of the action through information related to the game (e.g. instant replays and decision making), resulting in their attention being shifted away from the live game itself. A concern that has become evident following the introduction of VAR.

Video assistant referees (VAR)

VAR was introduced in the EPL for the 2019/20 season.⁴⁹ Following the successful trials and introduction of goal line technology, and the growing importance attached to decision making, it was deemed important to assist referees further with their on-field performance. However, the introduction of VAR has been beset with issues and controversies, arguably making the role of the on-field referee less clear, creating concerns around their authority and also undermining the ability of referees to make the right decisions during the crucial moments of a match.⁵⁰ However, football is not the only sport to introduce technology into the game, and the EPL is not the first league to take the decision to routinely introduce this technology.

Tennis, rugby union and rugby league were early adopters of the technology available to support their officials. All of these sports have also encountered issues with the implementation of this technology, and therefore, it should not be a surprise that football has also faced problems with the introduction of technology.⁵¹ There have been a number of high-profile incidents, one of which involved both the goal line technology system and VAR, in an example of the problems that can exist if the technology fails to operate. On Wednesday 17 June 2020, Sheffield United were denied a goal against Aston Villa by a technology breakdown, with goal line technology not working and VAR criticized for not intervening and correcting the error. A Sheffield United free kick was carried over the goal line by the Aston Villa goalkeeper, with the goal line technology not operating and detecting the incident due to the cameras required for the goal line technology system being blocked. This meant that the referee did not receive a notification to their watch, as would usually occur when the ball has crossed the goal line. Because of this, play was allowed to continue, meaning that VAR could not intervene, despite replays showing the ball had clearly crossed the goal line.⁵²

There have also been criticisms of the VAR system as it continues to evolve. From the perspectives of supporters in the stadium, suggestions have been made that VAR protocols and decisions are difficult to follow and that those supporters watching the match at home on television know more than the supporters who are watching the match live in the stadium. Further criticisms with the initial system and the procedures that were set up revolved around the EPL directing on-field referees not to utilize the pitch side monitors and, rather, rely on the information and decisions made by their colleagues operating as VAR. This instruction was in direct contravention of the recommendations of FIFA and the actions of most other leagues around the world that introduced VAR into their procedures, where the use of pitch side monitors is common place and widely adopted.⁵³ It is hoped that the criticisms of the VAR system will be similar to that of goal line technology, where the dissention dissipated as players, coaches and supporters accepted its use.⁵⁴

Referees and the media

Refereeing organizations, such as the PGMOL, are regularly asked whether EPL referees can converse with the media after a fixture. This practice was evident in the EPL until the 2002/2003 season when the PGMOL removed referees from these post-match media interviews.⁵⁵ The argument persists that the media interviews would be used to question referees over contentious decisions or incidents that the media believe negatively impacted on the match or one of the teams during the course of a match, rather than to explain points of law or why a particular decision might have been given.⁵⁶ Referees are interviewed after fixtures in other leagues, such as the Norwegian Eiteserien (the top professional football league in Norwegian football), and this can work well in any such leagues. However, specific protocols around the type of questions that can be asked and the interaction between the media and the referee exist and mean that both the referee and the media organizations operate in a strict format.

Any move back towards this interaction between referees and the media would need to be undertaken for the appropriate reasons, such as explaining decision making, the VAR process and why decisions were given, but avoiding the temptation to criticize referees and their decisions during a match. Media organizations already employ the services of former EPL referees to scrutinize the decisions and the use of technology during the course of a match, an action which may, in fact, exacerbate some of the issues faced by referees emanating from media scrutiny. Media engagement in any form should be organized around educating supporters about the laws of the game and the referee decision-making processes. The temptation is to question referee decisions, and this has the potential to lead to, or increase, abuse towards referees in the EPL. There is a growing body of work that has focused on the extent of abuse towards sports officials⁵⁷ including football referees,⁵⁸ both in England and in European football,⁵⁹ involving elite referees in the data. There have also been high-profile incidents of social media abuse towards EPL referees linked to perceived decision-making errors during matches.⁶⁰ Any abuse is clearly something to be avoided, given the link that is perceived to exist between referee abuse in the EPL and verbal/physical abuse towards referees at lower levels of football.⁶¹ However, there is the potential to use any future referee engagement with the media in the EPL to address some of the issues related to the abuse of officials both in the EPL and in grassroots football.

The negative culture that currently exists has created ingroups and outgroups in football. Players, coaches and spectators form the ingroup in football, whereas referees are seen as the outgroup.⁶² This situation and relationship, which has taken decades to evolve,⁶³ will take time to address and requires a cultural shift in the relationship between these different groups. However, any such engagement from the EPL through referees and their connection with the media could have a positive impact on referee experiences at all levels of the game, particularly given the relationship that has been identified between the behaviour and actions of players, coaches and managers in the EPL and behaviour at other levels of football.⁶⁴

Where next for referees in the EPL?

The brave new world of goal line technology and VAR has rapidly arrived. The introduction of VAR in particular has not come without controversy related to the protocols employed and also the technology itself in some situations. Challenges exist for the EPL to improve the VAR system, the associated offside decisions, the protocols around the VAR process and the experience for supporters in stadiums. However, the introduction of this technology also presents opportunities. Football has been a relatively slow adopter of technological innovations when compared to other sports, and as such, the process of introducing this technology and then refining both the technology and the associated processes are some way behind other sports. Nevertheless, if improvements to the method can be found, then VAR could be a significant asset for the EPL.

Worries around the slowing down of the game in the EPL were partly behind the decision to disregard the pitch side monitors in the first instance, a decision which has since been reversed. However, this does at least point to a considerable area of discussion within refereeing and the EPL more widely. As has been discussed in this article, the EPL is a global product, with the television and sponsorship rights to the league sold around the world and generating millions of pounds for the clubs in the league. Moreover, clubs also sell individualized sponsorship rights, negotiate sponsorships deals and have other arrangements with external partners, all aimed at generating additional income.⁶⁵ As such, the sporting product (e.g. the league and the matches that take place therein) need to be preserved because the excitement and entertainment that these fixtures generate is one of the unique selling points of the EPL. This means that clubs are reluctant to commit to changes or adaptations that they perceive to have a detrimental impact upon the league product, such as potentially reducing the speed of the matches, or the number of incidents and action that regularly occurs.⁶⁶

This presents the circumstances and parameters in which referees and those who manage referees in the EPL operate within. Referees do not function in isolation, and decisions that might conceivably be made for the benefit of referees can be disregarded because they might not benefit the league more widely.⁶⁷ However, if the challenges for referees in the EPL are to be addressed, funding will inevitably need to increase further. Matters such as the additional introduction and development of technology, the potential concerns around the recruitment and retention of talented referees, and the pressure on referees to achieve correct decisions, all require financial support. This funding has increased since the professionalization of referees in 2001.⁶⁸ Nevertheless, the funding that referees obtain is still minimal when compared to the financial benefits that the clubs and players receive.⁶⁹ Recent PGMOL turnover included £10.2 m from the Premier League, £5.3 m from the Football League and £3.7 m from the FA, according to the 2018/2019 season annual accounts,⁷⁰ a significant amount of money but not comparable to the turnover of the majority of EPL clubs. Given the advances made in officiating since the inception of the EPL and the challenges that exist over the coming years for referees, a renewed focus on the funding and support of referees is essential to maintain and increase the quality of referees in the EPL.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Hamil and Walters, ‘Financial Performance in English Professional Football’.

2. Gilmore, Wagstaff and Smith, ‘Sports Psychology in the English Premier League’; and Wagstaff, Gilmore and Thelwell, ‘When the Show Must Go On’.

3. Webb, ‘Referees and the Media’.

4. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

5. Ibid.

6. Millward, ‘A Whole New Ball Game’.

7. ‘The History of Goal Line Technology’, The Premier League, accessed 18 January 2021, https://www.premierleague.com/news/60519

8. Webb, ‘Goal! Or is it?’.

9. Wagstaff et al., ‘When the Show Must Go On’.

10. Lovejoy, ‘Glory, Goals and Greed’.

11. Cox, Gilmore and Graham, ‘The European Dilemma’; and Hamil and Walters, ‘Financial Performance in English Professional Football’.

12. Webb, ‘Referees and the Media’.

13. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

14. Webb, ‘Managing Match Officials’.

15. Pina et al., ‘Football Refereeing’.

16. Nevill, Webb and Watts, ‘Improved Training of Football Referees’.

17. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

18. Ibid.

19. ‘The Premier League, Referees’, The Premier League, https://www.premierleague.com/referees (accessed January 18, 2021).

20. PGMOL, ‘2002–2003 End of Year Financial Statements’; and PGMOL, ‘2018–2019 End of Year Financial Statements’.

21. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

22. Castagna, Abt and D’Ottavio, ‘Relationship Between Fitness Tests and Match Performance’.

23. Weston et al., ‘Relationships among Field-Test Measures’.

24. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

25. Slack et al., ‘Factors Underpinning Football Officiating Excellence’; and Slack et al., ‘An Evaluation of a Mental Toughness Education and Training Program’.

26. Nevill, Webb and Watts, ‘Improved Training of Football Referees’; and Webb et al., ‘The Impact of Referee Training’.

27. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

28. Webb et al., ‘Leading Elite Association Football Referees’.

29. See for example Catteeuwet al., ‘Decision-making Skills’; MacMahon et all., ‘Decision-making Skills and Deliberate Practice’.

30. Carlos, Ezequiel and Anton, ‘How does Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Modify the Game’; and Kolbinger and Lames,‘Scientific Approaches to Technological Officiating Aids in Game Sports’.

31. Kolbinger and Lames,‘Scientific Approaches to Technological Officiating Aids in Game Sports’.

32. Nlandu, ‘The Fallacies of the Assumptions’, 452.

33. See for example Miller et al., ‘Globalization and Sport’; and Smart, ‘The Sport Star’.

34. Whannel, Culture, Politics and Sport.

35. Nauright and Ramfjord, ‘Who owns England’s game?’

36. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

37. Rathborn, ‘Premier League “optimistic”’, The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/premier-league-tv-rights-deal-how-much-live-streaming-deal-a9325436.html (accessed April 6, 2021).

38. See for example Plumley, Wilson and Ramchandani, ‘Towards a Model for Measuring Holistic Performance’; and Plumley, Ramchandani and Wilson, ‘Mind the Gap’.

39. Buraimo, Simmons and Szymanski, ‘English Football’.

40. ‘The History of Goal Line Technology’, The Premier League, https://www.premierleague.com/news/60519 (accessed January 18, 2021).

41. Ryall, ‘Goal Line Technology’.

42. Ibid.

43. Ryall, ‘Are there Any Good Arguments’.

44. David Walsh, ‘I Don’t Want GLT’, The Times, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-dont-want-goal-line-technology-you-need-it-once-every-40-years-m3vg7sff9xr (accessed January 17, 2021).

45. Kelner, ‘VAR Technology to be used’, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/03/var-premier-league-ifab (accessed January 17, 2021).

46. Nlandu, ‘The Fallacies of the Assumptions’; and Winand and Fergusson, ‘More Decision-Aid Technology Insport?’

47. Cairns, ‘The Hybridization of Sight’.

48. Ibid.

49. Webb, ‘Goal! Or is it?’.

50. Collins, ‘The Philosophy of Umpiring’; and Webb, ‘Goal! Or is it?’.

51. Ibid.

52. ‘VAR Controversies in the Premier League’, BT Sport, https://www.bt.com/sport/news/var-controversies-in-the-premier-league-this-season0 (accessed January 20, 2021).

53. ‘Video Assistant Referees (VAR)’, FIFA, https://football-technology.fifa.com/en/media-tiles/video-assistant-referee-var/ (accessed January 16, 2021).

54. Ryall, ‘Goal Line Technology’.

55. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

56. Ibid.

57. Warner, Tingle and Kellett, ‘Officiating Attrition’; and Webb, Rayner and Thelwell, ‘An Examination of Match Official’s Perceptions’.

58. Cleland, O’Gorman and Webb, ‘Respect?’; and Dell, Gervis and Rhind, ‘Factors Influencing Soccer Referee’s Intensions’.

59. Dawson, Webb and Downward, ‘Abuse is Not a Zero Sum Game’; Webb et al., ‘An Analysis of Soccer Referee Experiences’.

60. MacInnes, ‘Referee Mike Dean Reports Death Threats’.

61. Webb et al., ‘Referees, Match Officials and Abuse’; Webb et al., ‘An Analysis of Soccer Referee Experiences’.

62. Webb et al., ‘An Analysis of Soccer Referee Experiences’.

63. Webb, ‘The Emergence of Training and Assessment’.

64. Cleland, O’Gorman and Webb, ‘Respect?’.

65. Cleland, ‘The English Premier League’; and Wilson et al., ‘Challenging Parachute Payments’.

66. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

67. Webb et al., ‘Leading Elite Association Football Referees’.

68. Webb, Elite Soccer Referees.

69. Webb et al., ‘The Impact of Referee Training’.

70. PGMOL, ‘2018–2019 End of Year Financial Statements’.