Who are the Premier League referees? 2022/23 officials, salaries and pay, selection explained
The 2022/23 Premier League season has been one of intense scrutiny and some major personnel changes for the refereeing group overseeing officials.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited, which was formed in 2001, leads a team of 79 Select Group referees who are full-time professional match officials.
As well as the Premier League, PGMOL organises officiating across English Football League and Football Association competitions, with all three organisations funding it.
Who’s in charge at PGMOL now, which referees officiate Premier League games and how are they appointed? Read on for those details and more.
Who is head of referees in England?
Well-known former Premier League referee Howard Webb became Chief Refereeing Officer earlier this season.
Webb took over from long-serving boss Mike Riley, a fellow alumnus of top-flight refereeing and ex-accountant.
Rotherham-born Webb, who supports Championship side Rotherham United, used to be a policeman before rising through the ranks to become the first referee in charge of a World Cup and Champions League final in the same year in 2010.
Three new senior appointments were also announced by PGMOL in December 2022.
Danielle Every became Chief Operating Officer after fulfilling similar roles at British Cycling and Pentathlon GB following 15 years with the FA.
Dr Steve McNally took over as Performance Support Director, having spent 16 years as Manchester United’s Club Doctor.
New Coaching Director Dr Wayne Allison had worked for the FA and League Managers Association after a playing career lasting more than 20 years, scoring almost 200 goals and commanding transfer fees totalling more than £1 million ($1.2m) for clubs including Watford, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United.
Adam Gale-Watts is responsible for the Select Group 1 (Premier League) and Select Group 2 (Championship) referee groups, while Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb is the Women’s Select Group Director.
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Several high-profile former referees work with the groups: Alan Wiley moved into an overall coaching role at the start of the season, while Jon Moss manages and Martin Atkinson coaches Select Group 1, with Kevin Friend managing Select Group 2.
Ex-New Zealand captain Rebecca Smith also works with the PGMOL as a referee coach.
Former World Cup assistant Mike Mullarkey heads the assistant referees, and Steve Child is also a coach for that group.
Paul Russell is the PGMOL’s head of psychology and Simon Breivik is head of fitness and medical.
Premier League referees 2022/23
The PGMOL has 21 referees listed for 2022/23. Twenty-two were used in 2021/22.
Paul Tierney
The first Select Group 1 member to reach 20 matches in the 2022/23 season, Tierney hit the headlines when a ranting Jurgen Klopp confronted him on the pitch after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham in December 2021.
Tierney supports Wigan Athletic and is the stepdad of a former professional rugby player in ex-Wigan Warriors and Leigh Centurions winger Lewis Tierney.
Anthony Taylor
Former non-league and EFL referee Taylor was appointed to the Select Group for the 2010/11 season.
Once a prison officer, Taylor won acclaim for his handling of Christian Eriksen’s collapse during a Denmark match at UEFA Euro 2020, later speaking about the incident at his local football club and the team he is said to support — non-league Altrincham.
Stuart Attwell
Attwell was briefly the youngest referee in Premier League history, taking charge of a game as a 25-year-old when he oversaw Blackburn Rovers’ draw with Hull City in August 2008.
Shortly after his top-flight debut, Attwell was at the centre of one of the most ridiculous moments in English refereeing history when he awarded Reading a goal — dubbed a ‘ghost goal’ by many — against Watford on the advice of an assistant referee despite the ball going wide. The farce was compounded by Attwell’s status as a supporter of Watford’s rivals, Luton Town.
Simon Hooper
Hooper, who has not been alone in becoming the focus of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s ire during a game this season, was promoted to Select Group 1 as a 36-year-old before the 2018/19 campaign.
The former IT service manager was released by Swindon Town as a 16-year-old centre-forward and is believed to support the Robins.
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Andy Madley
Having been at Huddersfield Town’s centre of excellence, Madley took a refereeing course alongside his brother, Bobby — a Barnsley prospect and a Premier League official between 2013 and 2018 — after suffering an injury.
“Make no mistake, refereeing in the Premier League is no more challenging than refereeing in the Wakefield Premier Division,” Madley once told a local football association in a nod to his roots in West Yorkshire. “If anything, it’s easier.”
Michael Oliver
The son of a former EFL official, Oliver became the youngest referee in Premier League history when he took charge of a game between Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers as a 25-year-old in August 2010.
Northumberland-born Oliver’s allegiance to Newcastle United was underlined when he was pictured wearing a Magpies shirt in a pub before a game in December 2021.
Robert Jones
Jones made his Premier League debut during the 2019/20 season before being promoted to Select Group 1 in time for the start of the following campaign.
The Merseyside-born former EFL referee showed his mettle in surprisingly physical fashion during Chelsea’s trip to Newcastle in November 2022, appearing to push Blues attacker Christian Pulisic away during a tempestuous end to the match.
Darren Bond
Said to come from a footballing family, Bond began in the Wigan Youth League at the age of 15.
The former Premier League assistant referee has received a mixed response from fans when he has worn an Alice band to hold back his hair during games.
Craig Pawson
Experienced Pawson became a Premier League referee in 2013 and is a Sheffield United fan.
Yorkshire-based Pawson has never refereed a game involving the Blades, city rivals Sheffield Wednesday or nearby Rotherham United.
Peter Bankes
Merseyside-based Bankes was the referee for a game that caused an outcry in February 2023 when a goal for Brentford against Arsenal was not ruled out despite clearly being offside, leading to the video assistant referee on the day, Lee Mason, leaving PGMOL.
Bankes is chairman of the referees’ association in the town of Bootle, near Liverpool.
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Jarred Gillett
Australian Gillett had refereed in his homeland and the top divisions in Japan, India, China and Saudi Arabia before becoming the first overseas referee in charge of a Premier League match in September 2021.
Gillett and VAR Madley incurred the public wrath of West Ham United boss David Moyes and captain Declan Rice for their decision to disallow a goal for the Hammers against Chelsea at the start of the 2022/23 season, with the England midfielder describing the call as a “shambles”.
Darren England
As a coach at Barnsley before becoming a referee, England worked with Manchester City and England defender John Stones and spent time refereeing in the Barnsley Sunday League.
England was an assistant referee in the 2015 FA Cup final as a 29-year-old and felt the wrath of fiery Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi after the Seagulls’ home game against Fulham in February 2023, sending the Italian off for his post-match remarks about the officiating.
John Brooks
An assistant referee for the 2016 FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United, Brooks oversaw his first Premier League match in December 2021 and was involved in another contentious incident on the same Saturday when the mistake was made during that game between Arsenal and Brentford.
Working as VAR to assistant Oliver, Brooks drew the line from an incorrect player to assess offside when Brighton visited Palace, causing the Seagulls’ goal to be wrongly ruled out. Webb subsequently contacted Albion to apologise, with Brooks relieved of his duties for the next two games in which he had been due to take part.
Michael Salisbury
Salisbury is the second referee from Preston to work in the top division, following in the footsteps of family friend Neil Swarbrick, whose subsequent job as the Premier League’s VAR boss will end with his retirement from the role at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Salisbury has never refereed a Preston North End match and made the VAR call to disallow Arsenal attacker Leandro Trossard’s goal at Leicester City in February 2023.
David Coote
Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Newcastle in the 2022/23 Carabao Cup final was presided over by Coote, a Premier League debutant in 2018 who was promoted to Select Group 1 for the 2020/21 season.
Speaking before the final, Coote explained how recognising the body language of his assistant referees, with whom he had worked on several previous games during the season, was “really vital” to making the right decisions at Wembley Stadium.
Andre Marriner
Veteran Marriner made his Premier League debut in November 2004 and was the referee for Wigan Athletic’s FA Cup final win against Manchester City in 2013.
Marriner told former Aston Villa and England striker Peter Crouch that he was a Villa fan, adding: “I go as much as I can. My two kids are season-ticket holders — and whenever I get the opportunity to go down, I will.”
Tony Harrington
A referee on Teesside by the age of 14, Harrington officiated his first Premier League game in December 2021.
Harrington is the grandson of Hartlepool United legend Tommy McGuigan and a supporter of the Monkey Hangers.
Tom Bramall
Rotherham PE teacher Bramall was 32 when he was promoted to the Premier League, having recovered from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury three years earlier.
“He is a young ref — I don’t know how many games he’s refereed in the Premier League,” impressed Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said after Bramall opted not to award Bournemouth a penalty against the Bees when he consulted the pitchside monitor over an incident in October 2022. “He showed character and a calm head in a very, very stressful moment.”
Chris Kavanagh
Experienced Championship referee Kavanagh first appeared in the middle as a 13-year-old in 1998.
Kavanagh was born in Manchester but has taken charge of numerous Manchester United and Manchester City games, indicating that he does not support either club.
Graham Scott
Oxford United fan Scott was a goalkeeper for nearby non-league side Abingdon Town before retiring from playing at the age of 27.
Former referee Keith Hackett warned PGMOL to “apologise and move on” after making the “mistake” in 2015 of promoting Scott, who had made his Premier League bow the previous year, but The Times hailed Scott a hero who was “intent on single-handedly eradicating diving” after his part in a game between Chelsea and Norwich City in 2018 that left then-Blues boss Antonio Conte fuming.
How are referees appointed each week?
Former referees assess the decisions made by current officials each week. Ex-players and head coaches also watch their performances during games, with the analysis by both groups of assessors used to decide which referees are the best and are therefore selected for games each week.
Referees are rarely demoted for prolonged periods of time for mistakes. Fifteen currently have the prestige of being placed on FIFA’s International Referees List, as well as 11 VAR officials.
Taylor and Oliver were the only English referees selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
How much do Premier League referees get paid?
Premier League referees were paid £1,150 ($1,392) per match in the 2020/21 season, according to Goal.
Championship referees receive £600 ($726) per game, the outlet said, with the reported figures comparing UK referee remuneration unfavourably to Spain (£5,200 / $6,294 match fee), Germany (£3,150 / $3,813), Italy (£3,000 / $3,631) and France (£2,400 / $2,905), and slightly above Portugal (£1,000 / $1,210).
Champions League referees are said to be divided into tiers based on their experience, with those deemed ‘Elite’ earning £5,500 ($6,656) per game.
Premier League referees’ salary
Officials reportedly receive an annual retainer of between £38,500 ($46,600) and £42,000 ($50,820), based on experience, which can make their total income as high as £70,000 ($84,700).
Championship referees receive the same salary to accompany the lower match fee in the second tier.
When do Premier League referees train?
All of the officials in the Select Group meet once a fortnight at England’s training complex of St George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent.
They take part in physical and technical training sessions and analyse match videos during the sessions.
Detailed performance analysis is supported by Opta, which provides statistical data on each match.
PGMOL says that the support team for the Select Group mirrors that of a football club, comprising sports scientists, sports psychologists, performance analysts, operational assistants, physiotherapists, sprint coaches, podiatrists and vision scientists.