The body in charge of Premier League refereeing has denied claims made by the former match official Mark Halsey that he was put under pressure to say he had not seen controversial incidents take place in matches.
The 55-year-old, who retired at the end of the 2012-13 season, made the comments on social media, following the Football Association’s decision to hand the Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero a three-match ban for violent conduct following an incident in which the striker appeared to elbow West Ham’s Winston Reid.
Agüero was not reprimanded by the referee, Andre Marriner, during the game, although the striker was charged retrospectively and will now miss the Manchester derby on Saturday. City had appealed against the ban on the grounds that Marriner was close enough to the incident to adjudge whether action against Agüero was warranted at the time.
Only in circumstances where a referee has not seen a bookable offence can retrospective action be taken against a player.
In his post-match report, Marriner said he had not seen the incident, therefore permitting the subsequent video review that brought about Agüero’s three-match ban. Had Marriner seen the incident then such action could not have been taken.
“I have been in that situation when I have seen an incident and been told to say I haven’t seen it,” said Halsey on Twitter, adding: “To be fair to the FA … it comes from within the PGMOL” – a reference to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.
Gary Neville, the former England and Manchester United defender, was among those immediately alarmed by the comments, responding: “Is that not corrupt?”
Rejecting Halsey’s allegation, the PGMOL said: “Match officials submit their reports, including critical incidents, directly to the FA. Match officials ensure that their reports are a full and accurate description of the incident. There is no pressure from the PGMOL to include or omit anything.”
The PGMOL was formed in 2001 to improve refereeing standards and provides officials for across the Premier League, Football League and FA competitions, receiving funding from all three bodies.
