Keith Hackett

Keith Hackett is a former football referee, who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield, South Yorkshire area in the 1960s and went on to officiate Olympic and European Championship matches in the 1980s and Premier League football matches in the 1990s. Keith is counted amongst the top 100 referees of all time and is a former head of the Professional Game Match Officials, which manages the refereeing across all Premier League and Football League matches.

Keith started writing for caughtoffside in 2021.
Keith Hackett column: Michael Oliver set the benchmark at Man United but Martin Atkinson was below-par at Chelsea
Three referees this weekend produced performances below the level expected and should be taken away from the coal face of the Premier...
Chelsea FC Manchester United FC
Keith Hackett column: I was amazed by the poor performances of PGMOL’s finest in Man Utd & City clashes this weekend
It’s been a poor weekend for the elder statesmen – fifty-year-old Martin Atkinson and Jonathan Moss – of the Professional Game Match...
Manchester City Manchester United FC
Keith Hackett column: Arsene Wenger’s World Cup idea may be a positive move by former Arsenal boss who knows all about entertaining football
I have a lot of admiration for FIFA’s chief of global development Arsene Wenger, brought about by the meetings that I had...
Arsenal FC
Keith Hackett column: Red card was Anthony Taylor’s only option and Chelsea could face punishment for their reaction
We continue to witness referees in the Premier League adopt the ‘lighter touch’ approach in games. There is no doubt that it...
Liverpool FC Chelsea FC
Keith Hackett column: Sorry Jurgen Klopp, I thought that Mike Dean performed well
Jurgen Klopp claims that the new lighter touch being operated in the English Premier League will put the competition back 15 to...
Liverpool FC
Keith Hackett column: PGMOL deserve praise despite Martin Atkinson’s wrong penalty award at Newcastle
There was no doubt in my mind that last season we witnessed, on a weekly basis, the worst standard of officiating in the...
West Ham FC Newcastle United FC
Keith Hackett: Look out for Premier League referees’ new guidelines in action this weekend
Experienced Paul Tierney, a safe pair of hands, took control of the Leicester City v Manchester City Community Shield game and he...
Keith Hackett column: With Man City buying Jack Grealish for £100m, I have to ask: ‘Has the game gone mad?’
This weekend saw the start of a new season with the opening games of the English Football League, Championship. Leagues One and...
Manchester City
Keith Hackett column: VAR checks for potential offside decisions were flawed
Will we see wider lines used on the VAR system operating on the Premier League this coming season ? The way VAR...
Keith Hackett column: Mike Riley must be moved on for the good of the English game at the elite level
The recent European Championship exposed and underpinned what I have been stating for several years now. That the standard of officiating in...
Keith Hackett column: The lack of succession planning by PGMOL will hopefully change with four new refereeing appointments this season
I have over many years been critical of the lack of a real succession plan been operated by the Professional Game Match...
Keith Hackett column: Jorginho should’ve been sent off in Euro 2020 final for serious foul play against Jack Grealish
To be appointed to officiate the Euro 2020 Final is a huge accomplishment for Bjorn Kuipers, a multi-millionaire supermarket owner. His company...
England National Team