Who Are Pro Ref? The Refereeing Body at Centre of Manchester Derby Controversy

Premier League fans have vented their frustrations with the standard of refereeing and their anger is directed towards Pro Ref. This is the new name given to the refereeing body responsible for top-flight referees.

Pro Ref (Professional Game Referees) has replaced PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited). The transition came as a result of wanting to modernise public identity, improve transparency around officating and unify its structure in the game.

This includes overseeing match officials for all games in the Premier League, the English Football League (EFL) and the Women's Super League (WSL). They also serve as the body for FA competitions and are led by Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb and Chief Operating Offcer Danielle Every.

Why is Pro Ref Under Scrutiny?

Pro Ref have come in for immense criticism following the Manchester derby on Sunday. Erling Haaland scored the winner in Manchester City's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Referee Michael Oliver initially ruled the goal out due to offside, believing Haaland had failed to stay onside. But VAR intervened and judged that he was in fact played onside by Patrick Dorgu.

The issue was that they did not consider Enzo Fernandez to be inteferring from play from an offside position. He dove towards the ball to try and head it, leading Lisandro Martinez to react to his movement and leave Haaland unmarked.

Pro Ref have since admitted they made an error awarding the goal and have contacted United. The incident has raised concerns about the standard of officiating in English football as it came a day after another drama-filled clash between Arsenal and Sunderland.

Referee John Brooks awarded a penalty to the Black Cats after judging Ezri Konsa to have held or pulled Dan Ballard during a corner. Pundits and fans have slammed the decision and it's believed that the Gunners will be contacting Pro Ref about the decision.

David Raya saved Enzo Le Fee's spot kick as Mikel Arteta's men went on to win 2-0. But it's one of two incidents that have led to many questioning the use of VAR and whether Pro Ref are capable of overseeing Premier League football.

Pro Ref Employees

There are currently over 600 officials employed by Pro Ref which includes referees, assistant referees and VAR specialists. Webb and Every are the two chiefs of the sporting body while Hugh Dallas is the Professional Referee Group Director and Mike Jones serves as the National Referee Group Director.

Kevin Friend is employed as the Professional Referee Group Manager while Cheryl Foster is the Manager of the Women's Professional Game Group. Other employees include Rebecca Welch, Steve McNally, Wayne Allison among others.

The elite group of referees who officiate games in the Premier League are: