Former head of referees criticises the glut of recent mistakes.
Former referees’ boss Keith Hackett has called for five Premier League officials to be removed from duty at the end of the season after claiming that some of their mistakes over the Christmas period were “bordering on appalling”, the BBC reports.
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The 70-her-old has targeted five names including Mike Jones, Lee Mason, Chris Foy, and Andre Mariner, whom he cited for some terrible mistakes recently.
In addition, he believes successor Mike Riley should step down from his job.
However, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have rebuffed Hackett’s claims, saying that the standard of officiating has actually improved since Riley took over his post.
Hackett, a former FIFA referee, claims he counted “over 20 major errors” during the Christmas period.
“I see standards falling,” he said. “Over the Christmas period it reached standards that were bordering on appalling.”
Speaking of Wayne Routledge’s red card against QPR on New Year’s Day, a decision that was since overturned, he said: “Routledge received a reckless challenge. My expectation was that his opponent might receive a red card.”
“There was a pretty poor performance from Andre Marriner in the Manchester City-Everton game. First of all the failure to spot a challenge that resulted in Sergio Aguero having to go off, then a non-penalty decision.
“I was with a group of Fifa referees from Nigeria who watched with amazement. Do you think I took joy in that?
“You can’t live on your reputation,” Hackett said. “At the moment, these guys are performing well below the level.”