Howard Webb will return to English football later this year as the PGMOL’s first-ever chief refereeing officer.
The 51-year-old has been working in the USA and Canada for the past six-years, and initially joined the Professional Referee Organisation as video review operations manager.
He later became the PRO’s general manager in January 2018, but will leave following the conclusion of Major League Soccer this season.
A start date will be confirmed in due course for the ex-Premier League official, with the Yorkshireman keen to help improve the officiating in the English top flight.
“I am looking forward to taking up the role of chief refereeing officer for thePGMOLonce I’ve completed my contract here at the end of this season in Major League Soccer,” Webb told the PA news agency.
“Great to be going home to a place I obviously know well and worked on the field for many years and looking forward to being a part of it.
“I will be managing the refereeing in the Premier League and the Football League, all the leagues that the PGMOL serves, ultimately looking to improve the standard of officiating, working with the team that’s there.
“There’s a lot of investment going into refereeing in
Englandthrough the Elite Referee Development Plan and my role is part of that, so exciting times.
“Of course the game doesn’t get any easier. The playing standards get higher and the referees are expected to be better and better year on year wherever you are in the world and for sure in England, where there’s so much scrutiny and attention.
“So to be working in that kind of pressure environment for us, for people like me, is great and I am looking forward to being part of that.”
The 2010 FIFA World Cup referee has ‘learned so much’ during his time working in North America, and PGMOL managing directorMike Riley
believes his return is a ‘major coup’.
Riley will step down this year after 13 years with the organisation, with Webb taking over from him in the future.
Webb is looking forward to the new challenge in this ‘bigger goldfish bowl’ and believes his experience will help him aid officials.
“I’ve not been in England for several years now so I need time to evaluate and see how things are working over there,” he said.
“I know there’s an awful lot of good people over there doing a lot of good work to improve the officiating standards.
“There’s a lot of good officials over there as well working in the highest profile league in the world.
“I think that story needs to be told as well as it can be, draw the curtain back on the work that officials do and just how good they are the vast majority of (the) time.
“If we can do that, then I think ultimately they’ll be seen in a different light.
“I know speaking to people in the US, the way that English game and English officiating is viewed is pretty positive.
“Anything that I can do to help continue the improvement of standards, which is obviously important, but also then show that improvement, I think it’s going to be important part of my job.”
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