A report highlighted how the personal affiliations of the 20 primary Premier League referees might influence their decisions, especially after Nottingham Forest raised concerns about referee teams. Following controversial calls during a match against Everton, Nottingham Forest issued a statement pointing out that they had alerted the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) that Stuart Attwell, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for their game, was a fan of Luton Town.
Nottingham Forest’s statement about refereeing decisions didn’t sit well with many, as it implied a bias that wasn’t necessarily substantiated. Despite the controversial tone, they raised a valid concern regarding how Premier League officials are appointed.
Following this incident, The Telegraph published a report outlining which clubs the 20 primary Premier League referees support, as well as indicating which officials are not allowed to oversee games involving certain teams due to potential conflicts of interest.
From those selected by the newspaper, five aren’t allowed to officiate Liverpool matches due to allegiances to the Reds or their rivals.
Darren Bond, Jarred Gillett, Peter Bankes, Rob Jones and Michael Salisbury were the five named, three of whom come from Merseyside or nearby areas.
Of the 20 primary Premier League referees, only two are originally from Manchester: Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh. Despite their Manchester roots, neither is prohibited from officiating matches involving Manchester City or Manchester United.
Taylor has been associated with supporting Altrincham, while Kavanagh is reported to be a fan of non-league Droylsden. This raises questions about why referees from Manchester are allowed to officiate games involving teams from Manchester and Liverpool. It’s worth mentioning that Mike Dean, a Tranmere supporter from Merseyside, has also officiated matches involving clubs from both Manchester and Liverpool without being restricted.
