Who are the PGMOL?

The standard of refereeing and subsequent treatment of referees is English football’s most popular discussion topic.

Premier League referees are tasked with applying the Laws of the Game to some of the most high-profile and most lucrative football in the world. They are appointed and managed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) along with the officials throughout the rest of professional football in England.

But what is PGMOL and how does it work?

What is PGMOL?

PGMOL stands for Professional Game Match Officials Limited. The company was incorporated in 2001 with the singular stated aim of improving refereeing standards in English football.

It manages all match officials working in the professional game in England. That’s around 600 in total working in the Premier League, EFL, National League and FA competitions, as well as the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship.

Officials are recruited, trained and mentored by PGMOL, which is also responsible for appointing referees, assistant referees, fourth officials and VAR teams for each match.

There are 84 contracted Select Group officials who, along with Development Group officials, oversee Premier League matches. They participate in physical and technical training and are backed by the Elite Referee Development Plan, which gives them a support network of specialists geared towards improving their performance.

Who is in charge of PGMOL?

PGMOL is ultimately controlled by three men.

Trevor Birch is the Chief Executive of the EFL and has also been the Chief Executive of PGMOL since September 2022. Company voting rights are shared between Birch, PGMOL’s Chief Football Officer Tony Scholes, and former Millwall CEO Andy Ambler, the FA’s Director of Professional Game Relations.

Beyond the board itself, former FA Chief Executive Martin Glenn has been the chairperson of PGMOL since January 2024.

The company’s leadership team also includes Chief Operating Officer Danielle Every, former Premier League assistant referee and first PGMOL Technical Director Adam Gale-Watts, ex-player and PGMOL’s highly respected Coaching Director Wayne Allison, and Howard Webb.

What is Howard Webb’s PGMOL role?

Former Premier League and FIFA referee Webb is PGMOL’s highest technical authority as its first Chief Refereeing Officer.

Webb was appointed in 2022 and is responsible for the training, development and appointment of officials, the application of law changes to the English game, and the implementation and performance of VAR.

How does PGMOL appoint referees?

PGMOL appoints referees, assistant referees, fourth officials, video assistant referees (VAR) and assistant video assistant referees (AVAR) for all matches in the men’s and women’s professional game in England.

The first decision concerns the eligibility of officials, who can’t officiate matches involving clubs they support, have played for, have a material interest in, or which play in the town or city where they live.

PGMOL also makes a decision based on any “strong association” between a referee’s declared club of interest and either of the clubs involved in any given match.

Webb and PGMOL itself have become targets for scrutiny, criticism and abuse after every Premier League match, but it’s worth remembering that PGMOL is also responsible for match officials much further down the professional game.

It is also limited by the talent available to it, which means grassroots officials are essential.

If referees are hounded and harassed out of non-league and junior football, there will be fewer on the pathway to the Select Group and the quality of refereeing will suffer as a result.

The treatment of Premier League referees informs what happens lower down, in turn driving more referees out of football at source.