Breaking News douzu00@gmail.com February 16, 2025 0 Comments

Every Select Group One referee working in the Premier League (2024/25)

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VAR has been in the Premier League for more than five years now, and in recent times, the spotlight on referees has been greater than ever, with decisions made and checked by officials being analysed in the media on a regular basis.

The most high-profile referees are known as Select Group One officials. The 20 current full-time professionals, who report to Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb, meet for physical and technical training sessions while also analysing match videos.

Select Group One referees are also regularly reviewed by five members on an independent panel, which mostly consists of former players and managers. But who are the 20 Select Group One referees? We’ve taken a detailed look.

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1

Stuart Attwell

PL referee since: August 2008

Stuart Attwell, born in October 1982, has been a Premier League referee since 2008, although he was demoted to the Football League for more than two years in 2012.

Attwell was the first referee who announced a VAR decision inside an English stadium in 2025, and has previously officiated the Community Shield and EFL Cup final.

2

Peter Bankes

PL referee since: August 2019

Peter Bankes began his refereeing career in the Football League back in 2014 and was promoted to the Premier League in 2019.

Born in May 1982, Bankes was promoted to a Select Group One official ahead of the 2019/20 season. Starting to make his name in the Premier League, he recently took control of the key clash between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

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3

Sam Barrott

PL referee since: October 2023

Sam Barrott has had a relatively quick rise to the Premier League, having been officiating at non-league level in 2020.

After a few years in the Football League, Barrott was promoted to the Premier League on a full-time basis in 2024 and was also added to FIFA’s list of international referees in December.

4

Darren Bond

PL referee since: January 2023

After his first experience as an assistant referee in the Premier League, Darren Bond made his Premier League refereeing debut in 2023. Born in 1982, Bond isn’t allowed to officiate Wigan Athletic due to his support for the Latics.

He has taken charge of 10 top-flight matches this season to date, while he was also in the middle for Manchester City’s recent slender FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient.

5

Thomas Bramall

PL referee since: August 2022

Previously a maths teacher, Thomas Bramall swapped the classroom for the pitch on a full-time basis.

Born in 1990, Bramall began as a national list referee in 2018 and was promoted to a Select Group One official in 2022. He has also taken charge of two J1 League games in Japan.

6

John Brooks

PL referee since: December 2021

An insurance broker before becoming a full-time referee, John Brooks was an assistant referee in the Premier League at the age of 21.

It wasn’t until 2021 that Brooks officiated his first Premier League, and he was added to FIFA’s list of international referees in 2023.

The Leicestershire-based ref has seen more big games come his way in recent seasons, including Chelsea’s trips to Liverpool and Manchester City this season.

7

Darren England

PL referee since: January 2020

Darren England has been a Premier League referee since 2020, five years after he was appointed in the Football League.

Born in 1985, England was the official on VAR duty for Luis Diaz’s infamous disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur in September 2023 that was wrongly ruled offside.

He also took charge of a Champions League qualifier earlier this season.

8

Jarred Gillett

PL referee since: September 2021

Australian Jarred Gillett swapped the A-League for the EFL in 2019, and two years later, was appointed as a Premier League referee.

He’s also a FIFA-listed official and is just the second person outside the UK to referee a Premier League fixture.

Despite his Australian roots, his allegiances to Liverpool mean that he is barred from officiating either of the Merseyside clubs.

9

Tony Harrington

PL referee since: December 2021

Tony Harrington had been a Football League referee for nine years prior to his promotion to the Premier League in 2021.

Since then, Harrington has taken charge of more than 30 top-flight fixtures and didn’t show his first red card in the Premier League until February 2024.

Interestingly, the three reds he has issued since came in successive matches this season, with Jack Stephens, Andy Robertson and Bruno Fernandes the recipients.

10

Simon Hooper

PL referee since: August 2015

Experienced Premier League referee Simon Hooper has been a regular top-flight official since 2018.

Born in 1982, Hooper’s first Premier League game was in 2015, and he has now officiated more than 100 fixtures, while also being chosen for two League One play-off finals.

One of the more memorable moments of his career was perhaps being screamed at by Erling Haaland when was accused of stopping a promising Manchester City attack too early.

11

Rob Jones

PL referee since: December 2019

Rob Jones has taken charge of play-off finals in the National League and EFL and has been a Premier League official since 2019.

Born in Merseyside, Jones is another referee who is not allowed to take games involving Everton or Liverpool.

Jones has also been on European duty this term, with matches in all three continental competitions under his belt.

12

Chris Kavanagh

PL referee since: April 2017

Chris Kavanagh has already officiated more than 150 Premier League games under the age of 40.

Despite being Manchester-born, Kavanagh has taken charge of fixtures involving Manchester United and Manchester City, with the referee based in Lancashire.

Kavanagh came under the spotlight earlier this season when he controversially sent off Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice back in August.

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There have been some very contentious refereeing decisions this season in the Premier League…

13

Andy Madley

PL referee since: March 2018

Andy Madley, older brother of former Premier League referee Robert Madley, surpassed 100 games as a top-flight official during the 2024/25 season.

A FIFA-listed ref, Madley also took charge of the 2024 FA Cup final between Man Utd and Man City.

Madley was recently in charge of the chaotic FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Man Utd, where he sent off Diogo Dalot and handed the Gunners a controversial penalty in a match free of VAR technology.

14

Michael Oliver

PL referee since: August 2010

Michael Oliver is seen by many as England’s best referee and has been a top-flight official since 2010.

He is approaching 400 games as a Premier League ref and has also regularly taken charge of games in the Champions League as well as being picked for the World Cup and European Championship.

This season has also seen Oliver take charge of Nations League games, proving he is an official at the top of his game, despite the controversies surrounding him at times this season.

15

Craig Pawson

PL referee since: March 2013

An FA Cup and EFL Cup final referee, Craig Pawson has been a Premier League official since 2013 and has completed more than 250 games since then.

Born in Sheffield, Pawson was also a FIFA-listed official for nine years up until 2024. Another ref on the international circuit, Pawson has officiated in the Nations League and Europa League group phase this season.

16

Tim Robinson

PL referee since: December 2019

Sussex-based ref Tim Robinson was a regular in the EFL for more than 10 years before being appointed a Premier League official.

Robinson took charge of over 350 games in the Football League and joined the Select Group One referees in 2023.

He has still taken control of several Championship matches this season, including the clash between promotion-chasing Sunderland and Leeds United back in October.

17

Michael Salisbury

PL referee since: November 2021

Former PE teacher Michael Salisbury covered more than 150 games in the EFL before his promotion to the Premier League in 2021.

Ex-Wolves boss Gary O’Neil wasn’t his biggest fan after Salisbury made mistakes on VAR against Man Utd and as a ref against Fulham in two of Wolves’ fixtures in 2023.

He is another devoting a chunk of his time to the Championship, while he was also in the middle for Manchester United’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Leicester City which was marred by Harry Maguire’s late, controversial winner.

18

Graham Scott

PL referee since: November 2014

Born in 1968 and the oldest of the 20 referees is Graham Scott, who officiated his first Premier League game back in 2014.

More than 10 years on, Scott has taken charge of 20 games or more in two separate top-flight campaigns and has officiated more than 100 Premier League fixtures in total.

However, he has yet to take charge of a match of any description this season.

19

Anthony Taylor

PL referee since: February 2010

Anthony Taylor will have officiated more than 400 games as a Premier League ref by the end of the 2024/25 season and is the most experienced alongside Oliver.

A FIFA-listed ref since 2013, Taylor has taken charge of numerous finals in England and Europe, including the 2023 Europa League final, where he came in for criticism from Jose Mourinho.

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20

Paul Tierney

PL referee since: August 2014

The last of the 20 Select Group One referees is Paul Tierney, who supports Wigan Athletic.

Tierney has refereed more than 100 games in both the Premier League and Championship and is another to have been chosen for both the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Tierney was thought to have been low on Jurgen Klopp’s best-friends list, with the German criticising him during his time at Liverpool.

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