VAR has been within the Premier League for greater than 5 years now, and in latest instances, the highlight on referees has been better than ever, with selections made and checked by officers being analysed within the media frequently.
Essentially the most high-profile referees are referred to as Choose Group One officers. The 20 present full-time professionals, who report back to Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb, meet for bodily and technical coaching periods whereas additionally analysing match movies.
Choose Group One referees are additionally commonly reviewed by 5 members on an unbiased panel, which principally consists of former gamers and managers. However who’re the 20 Choose Group One referees? We have taken an in depth 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, though he was demoted to the Soccer League for greater than two years in 2012.
Attwell was the primary referee who introduced a VAR resolution inside an English stadium in 2025, and has beforehand officiated the Group Defend and EFL Cup closing.
2
Peter Bankes
PL referee since: August 2019
Peter Bankes started his refereeing profession within the Soccer League again in 2014 and was promoted to the Premier League in 2019.
Born in Could 1982, Bankes was promoted to a Choose Group One official forward of the 2019/20 season. Beginning to make his identify within the Premier League, he not too long ago took management of the important thing conflict between Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis on the Emirates Stadium.
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3
Sam Barrott
PL referee since: October 2023
Sam Barrott has had a comparatively fast rise to the Premier League, having been officiating at non-league degree in 2020.
After a couple of years within the Soccer League, Barrott was promoted to the Premier League on a full-time foundation in 2024 and was additionally added to FIFA’s checklist of worldwide referees in December.
4
Darren Bond
PL referee since: January 2023
After his first expertise as an assistant referee within the Premier League, Darren Bond made his Premier League refereeing debut in 2023. Born in 1982, Bond isn’t allowed to officiate Wigan Athletic attributable to his help for the Latics.
He has taken cost of 10 top-flight matches this season up to now, whereas he was additionally within the center for Manchester Metropolis’s latest slender FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient.
5
Thomas Bramall
PL referee since: August 2022
Beforehand a maths instructor, Thomas Bramall swapped the classroom for the pitch on a full-time foundation.
Born in 1990, Bramall started as a nationwide checklist referee in 2018 and was promoted to a Choose Group One official in 2022. He has additionally taken cost of two J1 League video games in Japan.
6
John Brooks
PL referee since: December 2021
An insurance coverage dealer earlier than turning into a full-time referee, John Brooks was an assistant referee within the Premier League on the age of 21.
It wasn’t till 2021 that Brooks officiated his first Premier League, and he was added to FIFA’s checklist of worldwide referees in 2023.
The Leicestershire-based ref has seen extra large video games come his means in latest seasons, together with Chelsea’s journeys to Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis this season.
7
Darren England
PL referee since: January 2020
Darren England has been a Premier League referee since 2020, 5 years after he was appointed within the Soccer League.
Born in 1985, England was the official on VAR obligation for Luis Diaz’s notorious disallowed objective for Liverpool towards Tottenham Hotspur in September 2023 that was wrongly dominated offside.
He additionally took cost 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 is additionally a FIFA-listed official and is simply the second individual outdoors the UK to referee a Premier League fixture.
Regardless of his Australian roots, his allegiances to Liverpool imply that he’s barred from officiating both of the Merseyside golf equipment.
9
Tony Harrington
PL referee since: December 2021
Tony Harrington had been a Soccer League referee for 9 years previous to his promotion to the Premier League in 2021.
Since then, Harrington has taken cost of greater than 30 top-flight fixtures and did not present his first crimson card within the Premier League till February 2024.
Curiously, the three reds he has issued since got here in successive matches this season, with Jack Stephens, Andy Robertson and Bruno Fernandes the recipients.
10
Simon Hooper
PL referee since: August 2015
Skilled Premier League referee Simon Hooper has been a daily top-flight official since 2018.
Born in 1982, Hooper’s first Premier League recreation was in 2015, and he has now officiated greater than 100 fixtures, whereas additionally being chosen for 2 League One play-off finals.
One of many extra memorable moments of his profession was maybe being screamed at by Erling Haaland when was accused of stopping a promising Manchester Metropolis assault too early.
11
Rob Jones
PL referee since: December 2019
Rob Jones has taken cost of play-off finals within the Nationwide League and EFL and has been a Premier League official since 2019.
Born in Merseyside, Jones is one other referee who isn’t allowed to take video games involving Everton or Liverpool.
Jones has additionally been on European obligation this time period, with matches in all three continental competitions underneath his belt.
12
Chris Kavanagh
PL referee since: April 2017
Chris Kavanagh has already officiated greater than 150 Premier League video games underneath the age of 40.
Regardless of being Manchester-born, Kavanagh has taken cost of fixtures involving Manchester United and Manchester Metropolis, with the referee primarily based in Lancashire.
Kavanagh got here underneath the highlight earlier this season when he controversially despatched off Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice again in August.
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13
Andy Madley
PL referee since: March 2018
Andy Madley, older brother of former Premier League referee Robert Madley, surpassed 100 video games as a top-flight official in the course of the 2024/25 season.
A FIFA-listed ref, Madley additionally took cost of the 2024 FA Cup closing between Man Utd and Man Metropolis.
Madley was not too long ago accountable for the chaotic FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Man Utd, the place he despatched off Diogo Dalot and handed the Gunners a controversial penalty in a match freed from VAR know-how.
14
Michael Oliver
PL referee since: August 2010
Michael Oliver is seen by many as England’s finest referee and has been a top-flight official since 2010.
He’s approaching 400 video games as a Premier League ref and has additionally commonly taken cost of video games within the Champions League in addition to being picked for the World Cup and European Championship.
This season has additionally seen Oliver take cost of Nations League video games, proving he’s an official on the prime of his recreation, regardless of the controversies surrounding him at instances this season.
15
Craig Pawson
PL referee since: March 2013
An FA Cup and EFL Cup closing referee, Craig Pawson has been a Premier League official since 2013 and has accomplished greater than 250 video games since then.
Born in Sheffield, Pawson was additionally a FIFA-listed official for 9 years up till 2024. One other ref on the worldwide circuit, Pawson has officiated within the Nations League and Europa League group part this season.
16
Tim Robinson
PL referee since: December 2019
Sussex-based ref Tim Robinson was a daily within the EFL for greater than 10 years earlier than being appointed a Premier League official.
Robinson took cost of over 350 video games within the Soccer League and joined the Choose Group One referees in 2023.
He has nonetheless taken management of a number of Championship matches this season, together with the conflict between promotion-chasing Sunderland and Leeds United again in October.
17
Michael Salisbury
PL referee since: November 2021
Former PE instructor Michael Salisbury coated greater than 150 video games within the EFL earlier than his promotion to the Premier League in 2021.
Ex-Wolves boss Gary O’Neil wasn’t his greatest fan after Salisbury made errors on VAR towards Man Utd and as a ref towards Fulham in two of Wolves’ fixtures in 2023.
He’s one other devoting a piece of his time to the Championship, whereas he was additionally within the center for Manchester United’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Leicester Metropolis 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 recreation again in 2014.
Greater than 10 years on, Scott has taken cost of 20 video games or extra in two separate top-flight campaigns and has officiated greater than 100 Premier League fixtures in whole.
Nonetheless, he has but to take cost of a match of any description this season.
19
Anthony Taylor
PL referee since: February 2010
Anthony Taylor could have officiated greater than 400 video games as a Premier League ref by the top of the 2024/25 season and is essentially the most skilled alongside Oliver.
A FIFA-listed ref since 2013, Taylor has taken cost of quite a few finals in England and Europe, together with the 2023 Europa League closing, the place he got here in for criticism from Jose Mourinho.
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20
Paul Tierney
PL referee since: August 2014
The final of the 20 Choose Group One referees is Paul Tierney, who helps Wigan Athletic.
Tierney has refereed greater than 100 video games in each the Premier League and Championship and is one other to have been chosen for each the EFL Cup and FA Cup.
Tierney was thought to have been low on Jurgen Klopp’s best-friends checklist, with the German criticising him throughout his time at Liverpool.
