Following a complaint from Nottingham Forest regarding the appointment of a VAR last season, Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), has announced that the declared allegiances of all Premier League referees will now be made public for transparency.
The issue arose when Forest criticized PGMOL for appointing Stuart Attwell, a Luton Town supporter, as the video referee for their match against Everton. Forest felt that Attwell's allegiance created a conflict of interest, especially after three potential penalty claims were waved away by the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor, with Attwell supporting those decisions.
