Five ways PGMOL could improve its beleaguered reputation

Public relations often gets a bad reputation. Why did an organisation do something? Why did they let something happen in the way it did? Why are their communications team not doing a better job?

The fact is that senior communications staff should be trusted advisers to senior leadership within any organisation, identifying potential problems and guiding the organisation in a direction which enhances rather than damages reputations.

Everyone makes mistakes. Every organisation gets things wrong sometimes. It’s how you learn from them that determines how you are perceived and how your reputation endures.

Refereeing, from grassroots level to the highest echelons of the game, is beset by criticism with disagreements over decisions a naturally partisan pastime.

But the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the English professional football governing body, does not help itself with a strategy and narrative that seems to change according to the circumstances.

When Howard Webb took over in 2022, replacing Mike Riley, he talked about an improvement in standards, particularly in reference to the video assistant referees (VAR).

In stark contrast to Champions League games, where referees appear to let the game flow without fanfare, there is a perception that referees are becoming the main talking point after many of the Premier League’s most high profile games.

So how can Webb and PGMOL improve their reputation? The list is long, but here are some pointers to improve perceptions and reality quickly.

1.      Honest dialogue

Currently, Howard Webb does a regular show on Sky Sports where he dissects some of the contentious decisions made over the course of the previous week or two. Webb is articulate and likeable, but his explanations seem adapted to justify why the majority of decisions that have been made are correct.

Rarely is there the necessary push-back from interviewers to scrutinise how and why referees and VAR made certain decisions.

Webb’s profile has grown with appearances on The Overlap as well, where other Sky pundits chummily discussed the challenges that referees face and some of the decisions made. He used soundbites about the high level of correct decisions being made, ignoring the call sheet of inconsistency or where no action was taken for offences that have resulted in game-changing actions, even just this season.

For the PGMOL to garner more respect, Webb must be open to more robust scrutiny and accept that the inconsistencies are becoming an uncomfortable sideshow that undermine the competition. Only when he accepts the issues that exist and makes clear and measurable efforts to address them can he really be judged for making positive change, rather than just accepting the status quo.

2.     Consistency

PGMOL has also been supported by an ESPN journalist who tries to explain officiating decisions that often contradict his earlier statements.

When fans are told that there will be a higher bar for VAR interventions, but this is not applied universally, it raises unhelpful questions about integrity that PGMOL could well do without.

While every game situation has an element of variance to it, claiming one decision is based on certain parameters and then an almost-identical situation does not cause distraction and frustration.

While referees remain front and centre of the narrative around Premier League match days, the scrutiny and criticism – and by extension the lack of confidence in officials – will endure.

3.     Diversity

The majority of the top referees in Select Group 1, the top tier of refereeing in England, is concentrated in the north of England and all of them are white men. Only three referees come from south of Birmingham.

With PGMOL facing financial challenges, there have been reports that the organisation may have to cut its training programmes, which would add to the problems developing a new generation of top referees and improving diversity.

4.     Meritocracy

While the quality of refereeing could certainly be improved, raising standards should come not only through investment in training and education, but in accountability for bad performances.

There is a steady stream of ambitious young referees in Select Group 2 and beyond who should be given the opportunities to prove themselves more readily when mistakes occur.

Currently, there is little in the way of meaningful consequence for referees making what can be egregious, season-defining errors, and therefore standards remain mediocre.

A rising tide lifts all boats and by cutting out the errors by a more fluid process of demotions and promotions, accountability is fundamental to rebuilding trust with fans and clubs alike.

5.    Conflicts of interest

Integrity is fundamental in sport at any level, but particularly in high profile elite competition.

The VAR team for Tottenham’s win against Liverpool last season made a major error but when it transpired that they had worked in the UAE the day before, accusations that they were fatigued did little to calm emotions.

The fact that any officials would have been permitted to accept jobs in nations with strong links to Premier League teams also prompts unhelpful concerns about neutrality and while there have been reports that this has now been banned, it has done little to raise confidence in PGMOL, particularly when statistics suggest at least the possibility of bias, conscious or otherwise.

Likewise, while referees are not permitted to officiate games involving their own teams, giving them matchday roles in games that precede their teams facing one of the clubs taking part on any given matchday weekend is also unhelpful. A red card to a key player could be construed as a way of influencing or benefiting an opposing side for the next weekend’s match and could so easily be avoided with proper planning.