A Premier League match could be officiated by a foreign referee for the first time next season.
Australian official Jarred Gillett will join the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Select Group 2 for the 2019/20 season after emigrating to the United Kingdom.
Gillett is one of Australia’s most experienced referees and he was appointed to the A-League list in 2010 and to the FIFA referees list in 2013.
By joining PGMOL’s Select Group 2, the 32-year-old will be part of the team who take charge of Championship matches and support development of refereeing standards across the Football League. But there is precedent for Select Group 2 officials, such as Andrew Madley, taking charge of Premier League matches. As a result, Gillett has the opportunity to be named the first foreign referee for a top-flight game.
Bringing in officials from abroad to take charge of games in the Premier League has been discussed in the past. In August, Keith Hackett, the former head of the PGMOL, urged his successor, Mike Riley, to do exactly that.
“A few years ago I looked very carefully, when I was the boss of PGMOL, to bring in some overseas referees. I think he [Riley] is going to have to do that,” said Hackett. “If any referee sustains a long-term injury, then they’re down to the bare bones. Do we question the ability of bringing in foreign players? What is different to refereeing?
“Exchange programmes exist. I’m thinking for a short-term plan, in the event someone gets injured, rather than exposing our young referees coming into the system.”
Gillett will be working at Liverpool John Moores University, specialising in research on young adults with cerebral palsy, during his time in England and will work as a referee alongside that. His job offer is subject to obtaining the relevant visa.
Riley, PGMOL managing director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Jarred. He is hugely experienced and demonstrates a number of key attributes that we expect from our referees.”
