What is PGMOL responsible for?
- Formed in 2001 to improve refereeing standards, the PGMOL group officiate across all the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and Football Association (FA) Competitions. All three organisations fund it.
- The training, development and mentoring of 162 referees and 350 assistant referees, headed up by Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb (a former PGMOL referee) and a team of managers and coaches.
- The most high-profile officials, the 20 full-time professional Select Group One referees.
- Currently, PGMOL have 84 in the Select Group who are contracted match officials. These are broken down between Select Group 1 Referees, Select Group 1 Assistant Referees, Select Group 2 Referees and women's Select Group officials.
How is being a Select Group referee different?
- Premier League matches are officiated by Select Group and Development Group referees and assistant referees.
- They meet for a training meetings regularly, where they perform physical and technical training sessions, and analyse match videos.
- From the start of the 2022/23 season, Select Group performance has been measured by a Key Match Incidents Panel which is made up of five members and is an independent panel primarily made up of former players and coaches, alongside one representative from the Premier League and another from PGMOL. Its goal is to provide an independent assessment of decision-making during matches and it sits every week to review major incidents and assess the outcomes of on-field and VAR decisions. Former players and managers (Match Delegates) also assess the performance and their management of the match.
What does PGMOL do to support the Select Group?
- Through the Elite Referee Development Plan, there is an enhanced support team which mirrors that of a football club: sports scientists, sports psychologists, performance analysts, operational assistants, physiotherapists, sprint coaches, podiatrists and vision scientists are all employed to improve referee performance.
- Technology is used as an aid too: detailed performance analysis is supported by Opta, which provides statistical data on each match.
What role does PGMOL play in international football?
- PGMOL plays an active role in developing refereeing standards, supporting The FA to develop referees in this country and working with referees across the world.
- There is a knowledge transfer programme that benefits entire confederations as well as individual football associations
- PGMOL has 36 FIFA-listed referees and assistant referees
PGMOL Appointments Policy 2024/25 (Download PDF 90KB)
