Revealed: How PGMOL selects officials as Nottingham Forest question 'Luton fan' Stuart Attwell's role in Everton defeat
Nottingham Forest fuelled controversy when they questioned the role of Stuart Attwell, who they allege to be a fan of relegation rivals Luton, as the VAR in their 2-0 loss to Everton on Sunday.
Forest issued an unprecedented statement condemning Attwell's selection after having three penalty appeals turned down, with Attwell supporting referee Anthony Taylor's on-field decisions.
Forest's fury put the spotlight on the PGMOL, the refereeing group that officiate Premier League matches. So, how does it select officials for games? And what criteria does it take into account?
Before every match round, there is a complex discussion held by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb and other PGMOL officials to decide which officials will be appointed to each match.
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Its selections are based, in part, around "allegiance forms" submitted by all referees and officials, in which they disclose the teams they support, and any others they have connections with.
These forms, submitted at the start of each season, focus strictly on geography and rivalry. So, for example, an official who is a Birmingham City fan should never be allowed to referee Aston Villa.
However, that official would be allowed to officiate a match involving West Bromwich Albion because, while there is a rivalry with Birmingham there, it is not deemed a strict conflict of interest.
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It is not explicit that Attwell, whom Forest claim is a Luton fan, cannot officiate games involving other clubs involved in the relegation battle.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher on Ref Watch:"I don't know what his role is, it's difficult for me to say. What I do know, is that Stuart Attwell is one of the VARs used week-in, week-out in the Champions League. He must be regarded as a very integral part of the system."You don't do that if you're not capable and making mistakes on a regular basis. People may question his decision but it's not right to question his integrity."
That said, practical, common-sense decisions are applied wherever possible to avoid such clashes.
PGMOL has to allocate six match officials to each Premier League match, which means a total of 60 officials are chosen for each Premier League match round.
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It has a pool of around 80 elite officials to select from, although up-and-coming officials are promoted at various times to give opportunities for development, and in order to widen and maintain the pool.
Fourth officials are often selected from the group slightly further down the PGMOL standings, who typically work in the Championship.
This is complex and not an exact science but the criteria used are:
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Michael Oliver, one of the country's leading referees, gave an insight into the selection process in an interview with the Mail on Sunday newspaper in 2021, stating his Newcastle United allegiance prevents him from officiating their games.
"I never referee Newcastle games," said Oliver. "We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club.
"You can't do any match involving that team and I can't do Sunderland, either, for obvious reasons.
"Because Newcastle [were] invariably involved in a relegation battle, when you get to March or April, it means I can't referee anyone around them towards the bottom three.
"If Newcastle needed a point to survive and the team they were fighting to get above was, say, Villa, I couldn't referee Villa's game either. I wouldn't want to. It's not worth the hassle."
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4 of May 2024
