Former referees' chief Keith Hackett blasts Premier League officials

Former referees’ chief Keith Hackett fears that a number of officials currently taking charge of top games in England are ‘too old’ and ‘not up to the task.’

The Yorkshireman told Sky Sports News HQ that a few of them are ‘struggling physically’ to keep up with play and believes the appointment process needs reviewing.

On Saturday at the Etihad Stadum in Manchester, referee Neil Swarbrick sent off West Brom’s Gareth McAuley for a crime committed by Craig Dawson.

You can see them struggling physically

This was the third time in under a year that a Premier League official had shown a red card to the wrong player in what was another case of mistaken identity.

The 70-year-old from Sheffield believes there are a number of reasons why the standard of refereeing in England is not as strong as it should be

And Hackett, who was a FIFA listed referee at the height of his career, before taking on the role as general manager of the PGMOB (Professional Game Match Officials Board), did not mince his words.

He said: “We have an ageing group of referees. Two now should be retired – Chris Foy and Phil Dowd – they’ve had good careers and been excellent referees.

“But you can see them struggling physically with the game. Some of the younger guys, apart from Michael Oliver, have not met the requirements and I think the appointment process is a bit skew.

'Team spirit'

“Martin Atkinson, a good referee (in charge of Liverpool-Manchester United at the weekend), has had 25-26 games this season and you’ve got Mark Clattenburg holding the board (highlighting the number of minutes of injury time) – and he’s arguably our best referee.

“And if he’s our best referee he should be out there every week and I think he’s not been treated that well or used that well.”

And Hackett is convinced the management of the current crop falls significantly short of the standards expected, adding: "These guys need to learn off each other, have a team spirit, which does not appear to be there at the moment.

“You see a guy who has a poor game, then he's given another game when ideally he should be rested and taken to account for that performance.

“I’m not suggesting we have a hanging judge mentality. But for a referee’s own well-being, he needs to get out of the firing line some times and be used more sensibly.

“But if you get the wrong man (send off the wrong person), at the elite level, then frankly that’s not acceptable.

“And for review processes the timelines are too long. You have a game at the weekend and it’s reviewed by Thursday.

"You need it reviewing quickly. They also did away with assessors in the stadium which I think was a mistake.”