New Premier League Referees Promises Greater VAR Transparency

Howard Webb has said he wants more openness about decision-making after taking over as the head of referees for the Premier League.

Webb, a former Premier League official who took charge of the 2010 World Cup final, left the same role at the Professional Referee Organisation for Major League Soccer to return to England, taking up the post of chief refereeing officer for PGMOL as of December 1.

“My biggest role is to take some of the learning on board from my time away from the English game, apply some of that in terms of guidance and coaching, and try to change the perception a bit and be more transparent, more open,” Webb said. “Not everything we did in Major League Soccer will work over here, it’s a different environment, but some things will.

“We want to engage with people, and manage expectations a bit better than I think might have been done before, and be receptive to feedback.”

Webb added: “As it stands at the minute, clearly there’s a feeling that the perception could be better, and the level of transparency could be better.”

The audio between the VAR and the referee is released by MLS each week, and while this won’t happen immediately in the Premier League it’s something Webb is working towards.

Howard Webb replaces Mike Riley as part of a new leadership group within PGMOL. Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

“I hope we get to the point where we are able to share some of the audio,” Webb said. “Even if people don’t necessarily agree with the final decision, people can understand the process and the rationale and be much more accepting of the decision.

“We’re not going to satisfy and please everyone, some decisions split opinion. You’ve got clearly correct decisions, and clearly wrong decisions, and then this grey zone of subjectivity where people form an opinion.”