Howard Webb keen to bring more ex-players into refereeing

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, a former amateur player, was praised for his performance in the World Cup final

Referee Szymon Marciniak, a former amateur player, was praised for his performance in Sunday’s World Cup final (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb is keen to look at how more ex-professional players in England can be enticed into officiating.

Much was made of Polish referee Szymon Marciniak’s amateur playing background as praise was heaped on him for his confident performance in last Sunday’s World Cup final.

Webb, who mentored Marciniak earlier in his career, believes making a greater effort to entice ex-pros into refereeing could help raise standards and help keep the production line of officials going.

“We need to look at how we can entice people in. We’ve always struggled to get ex-players involved,” Webb, who has been appointed to the new role of chief refereeing officer at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said.

“But I am sure somebody out there will want to be a trailblazer. Somebody who’s played in the Football League – I don’t expect players who have played at the very highest level who have got other opportunities to come into (refereeing) – but somebody that has played a decent career, that’s got good knowledge of the game, maybe late 20s, suffering with an injury or whatever it might be that means they can’t play as regularly.

“I think there’s an opportunity for someone to really blaze a trail and we would welcome them wholeheartedly with the skills they have got from that playing career provided they have got the other skills they need to be successful.”

Webb said he had worked in the past to convince ex-professionals to move into refereeing but with limited success, and highlighted the length of time it could take to the reach the top level as one factor that might have put people off. The PFA is understood to agree with Webb that this slow progression is one of the key challenges, and the fact there are very few full-time jobs available as referees.

“I remember going to the exit trials at Lilleshall and speaking to players there,” Webb said.

“I kind of get it, they want to be professional players, they’ve just been released by a Premier League club and I’m there saying, ‘think about being a ref’.

“Back then don’t forget it was a bloody long slog to the top. I started in December ’89 and I made my Premier League debut in October 2003. That’s 13 and a half years and that’s almost a promotion every year.

We look very similar but he’s a bit shorter than me. He’s a good friend and I was delighted to see how well he did in that game.

Webb on World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak

“So you could see why there was a need to streamline it a little bit. You still need to do some of those difficult yards to get the experience you need to survive at the high levels and flourish there, but you can credit what experience you’ve already got in the game through playing or whatever it is and then build on that as quickly as you can and get them up there as quickly as possible, and that will entice people in.”

Speaking about Marciniak, Webb added: “We look very similar but he’s a bit shorter than me. He’s a good friend and I was delighted to see how well he did in that game.”

The Player to Referee Pathway is a joint initiative run by the Professional Footballers’ Association, the Football Association and PGMOL. The last one ran in November last year, with another due to run at the end of the current season and involve some current players.

The PFA believes the focus should be on attracting released scholars and young professionals.