Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson’s scathing criticism of modern officials was accurate, claiming standards have been gradually declining year-on-year, due to a lack of man management and leadership at the top of the profession.
For the third time in four Championship games this season, Pearson complained about match officials, as in the wake of Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Luton Town he claimed he’s considered retiring from the game given refereeing is now at an “all-time low”.
City were denied a penalty for what appeared a clear trip on Rob Atkinson and moments later, referee Leigh Doughty refused to match Mark Sykes’ red card with a dismissal for Luton midfielder Luke Freeman despite him barging the Robins midfielder to the ground.
Halsey, who worked in the Premier League from 1999-2013, has cited a lack of personal care and attention to how young officials are managed by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) - the body responsible for the organisation of match officials in England - under the leadership of Mike Riley, who is stepping down as general manager at the end of this season after 13 years in the post.
“Nigel wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s a good football man. Sometimes you wonder, ‘why has he come out and said things like that?’, well, perhaps he has to, because when he writes back to Kevin Friend [who now looks after Championship referees for the PGMOL], I guess he feels nothing gets done,” Halsey told Bristol Live.
“I can understand his frustrations with the current levels of performances from referees at present. The standard has been dropping year on year since Mike Riley replaced Keith Hackett.
“I don’t blame the referees, it’s the leadership and direction that comes from the management. I always say: average football players get turned into good players, good players into excellent players, when you have good coaches. And that is no different to refereeing.
“It’s about giving our young referees confidence, leadership and direction - giving them the loving; some referees need a kick up the backside, some need an arm around the shoulder. It’s about man managing the dressing room. It’s no different to a group of players. It’s about managing a group of men and, unfortunately, the PGMOL management don’t know how to, and lots of other guys will say the same who have left.
“Let the guys go out and referee; yes, you can referee with common sense, yes you can engage with the players but players have got to know where they stand and they do pick up on a weak referee.”
Riley is stepping down next year following pressure from within the Premier League over the volume of mistakes made in the 2021/22 season, a problem that clearly permeates throughout the EFL.
Pearson’s mood on Tuesday was not helped by the fact that a few days earlier he had received a letter from the PGMOL admitting City were denied two penalties in their 2-1 defeat at Hull City on the opening day of the season and that the Tigers’ spot-kick was erroneously awarded by referee Dean Whitestone.
Howard Webb has been linked as Riley’s replacement - an appointment Halsey very much backs - but the former FIFA referee still needs the support network around him to find long-term fixes to the problem.
“We haven’t got the personnel there,” Halsey added. “A lot of our top referees aren’t even involved in the PGMOL. One has to ask the question, ‘why?’ Mark Clattenburg left, I went, Lee Probert, Peter Walton - why are we not involved?
“Obviously it comes down to a difference of opinion. Some say it as it is; some guys are yes men - you get that in all walks of life and professions.
“It’ll be fantastic to have Howard Webb - he’s a super man manager - but he has a massive task on his hands to get back the confidence of players, managers and the supporters because the fans are just as important as anyone else. It’s about bringing that confidence back to English football in terms of officiating. We used to be renowned as the best in Europe. Well, we’re not anymore - we don’t even have a VAR team going to the World Cup.
“It’s the training, the education, the leadership and direction. It’s not just going to be an overnight fix, it’s going to take years to get back to where we belong.”
Although standout incidents like penalty calls and sendings-off grab the attention and dominate the narrative around referees, particularly in the post-match discourse from managers, Halsey claims that while getting more of them right than wrong is important, good refereeing is about much more than that.
He indicates a growing disconnect between the authoritarian approach of some officials and players, and that respect needs to be earned on the field through their conduct not just because of the fact they are a referee.
“I can’t speak about others, because you’ve seen the arrogance of some of them, but I would judge some of my performance on ‘key match incident errors’, if I’d made one of them that would kill me,” he added. “I would analyse it, look at the videos, look at my positioning, my fitness - did I have a good viewing angle?
“But you’d gauge yourself on players and manager’s reactions. It’s not just about making big decisions, it’s getting the small decisions right - the awareness of what’s going on around you. Engage with the players, pick up the niggles.
"And, look, shop floor language does go on between referees and players, it did with me, and that’s how you get their respect. Referees can’t expect to walk on the field of play and demand respect, that has to come from the way you talk and engage the players and the accuracy of your decision making.
“What we want is the personality back in referees; we want to see natural referees, not manufactured ones.”
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