The head of the referees’ union, Prospect, said he does not know of any officials being asked to lie in their post-match reports to the Football Association, following the former Premier League referee Mark Halsey’s claims he had been put under pressure from PGMOL, the body in charge of Premier League refereeing, to falsely say he had not seen controversial incidents.
Alan Leighton was responding to the controversy caused by tweets sent by Halsey, with regards to the three-match ban handed to Sergio Agüero for elbowing Winston Reid during Manchester City’s victory over West Ham. The ban was added retrospectively by the FA after the referee Andre Marriner failed to include the incident in his post-match report.
“I have been in that situation when I have seen an incident and been told to say I haven’t seen it. To be fair to the FA … it comes from within the PGMOL,” tweeted Halsey on Saturday.
Those comments have led to figures such as Gary Neville calling for an investigation into Halsey’s allegation that referees are being leant on by their controlling body but Leighton told the Guardian: “In all the years that I have represented referees I cannot recall any official approaching me on the basis they had been asked by PGMOL to lie in a report to the FA.”
Halsey’s tweets were in relation to an incident he later clarified as being between Blackburn Rovers’ Steven N’Zonzi and Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross in 2011. “I saw the incident and was happy it was not a red card,” Halsey told the Sun on Sunday. “My bosses weren’t happy. I was under pressure to say I hadn’t seen it. I was furious but no matter what industry you are in, you do what your bosses say. So he [N’Zonzi] was charged and got three matches. I know it goes on because other referees have told me.”
Neville claimed Halsey’s comments have left the FA and the Premier League with “a major issue” to tackle but the PGMOL insisted in a statement that “there is no pressure [on referees] to include or omit anything” from their reports.
It is understood the FA is satisfied with that statement and the governing body’s response on Sunday hardly suggested it is about to launch an investigation into Halsey’s claim. “The FA compliance team deal with all disciplinary matters with the utmost integrity,” it said in a statement.
