Former England referee Webber calls for more retired players to join refereeing industry

2022-12-26 12:35

Former England referee Webber calls for more retired players to join refereeing industry


Howard Webb, a well-known former referee in England , recently took office as the Chief Referee of Professional Game Referee Limited (PGMOL), advocating that professional players can engage in refereeing after hanging up their boots, and open up their own new path in football.


Webber has spent 25 years as an international referee. During this period, he also enforced large-scale competitions such as the World Cup and the Premier League, until he officially hung up the whistle in 2014. And he was recently appointed as the first chief referee of Professional Match Referee Co., Ltd., which is responsible for law enforcement of the Premier League, English Champions League, English League Cup and FA. It will further improve the level of competition.


After taking over the position, Webber told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an interview that they not only tried to add diverse experience to improve the level of referees, but also further expanded the talent pool and set their sights on former professional players . . He noted that there has been an ongoing effort to bring in former professional players and entice them to referee duties in the future.


Weber believes that former professional players can serve as a "blazer" role, opening the way for this talent development. However, he also admitted that players and referees have been in an antagonistic relationship in football over the years, so it is difficult to encourage former players to make changes and join the refereeing industry. They are currently looking at how to attract former players to the industry.


Former England referee Webber calls for more retired players to join refereeing industry


In addition, Weber also emphasized that he would not expect top players to join this industry, but such players have an understanding of the game and will have greater opportunities in the future refereeing career. If these former players have experienced bottlenecks or injury problems in their careers that prevent them from playing, then this will be a turning point in football career.


Weber added, "I think there is an opportunity for someone to really carve that path, and we would really welcome them to bring the skills and qualifications they've acquired in their careers to this work."


Former England referee Webber calls for more retired players to join refereeing industry


Reduce VAR's erroneous disclosure process and increase public acceptance


The Premier League clubs have also developed a new plan for the development of elite referees to reduce the criticism of referees caused by penalties and to change the negative evaluation of referees.


Webber is also committed to using talent to improve and ensure the proper use of video assistant referees (VAR) in the league. According to the news that there have been as many as 6 VAR judgment errors this season, this is likely to be due to more interference in the game or problems with manpower and level. Weber hopes to make the VAR process clearer in the future, including for fans. We watched the entire decision-making process of referees communicating and making decisions between the courts.


Regarding this measure, Weber explained, "Even if the fans cannot agree with the final judgment of the referee, if they can see the development of the whole process, then I believe that the public's acceptance of the final decision-making will be relatively improved."