The Evolution Of Referees: Speed Tests, Data, Psychologists And Superfoods

“Three, two, one,” comes nan countdown from Francis Bunce, a elder sports intelligence astatine nan referees’ assemblage Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), earlier he blows nan whistle to footwear disconnected nan much-anticipated maximal aerobic velocity (Mas) test. It is 8.53am astatine nan La Finca edifice connected nan Costa Blanca, astir 30C and nan warm-up has very overmuch been and gone. This a six-minute all-out run. “They telephone it Mas because astatine nan extremity you’re conscionable praying for it to finish,” says a smiling Keith Hill, 1 of nan referee coaches watching nan convention pinch Howard Webb, nan main refereeing officer.

Part of Webb wishes he had a clip machine, truthful he could teleport present a minibus of referees astatine their highest successful 2003, erstwhile he joined nan Premier League list, to witnesser nan improvement of training. Now they tally astir 12km a crippled and usage exertion specified arsenic Playermaker, straps that connect to boots and tin publication moving gaits, way really quickly officials alteration guidance and place injuries. Scott Ledger, who has been an adjunct referee connected much than 500 Premier League games, is wearing boots fresh for nan occasion, Adidas Copa Mundials dressed up pinch nan Spanish flag. This is time 3 of a five-day pre-season campy but nan Mas is nan main arena from a beingness perspective.

For 63 officials, including 19 Premier League referees, each successful identical navy kit, nan workout runs simultaneously successful 2 waves connected nan precocious and little pitches. Two others are doing rehab connected Wattbikes and a fistful are missing owing to Club World Cup and Women’s Euro 2025 duty. Some officials present are connected nan PGMO’s improvement programme, including Elliot Bell, boy of nan erstwhile Accrington adjunct head Jimmy. At a glimpse it looks for illustration an elite nine astatine work, nan giveaway nan absence of balls aliases nets. “Players want to beryllium successful nan starting XI, officials want to beryllium successful nan starting 10 connected nan Premier League squad expanse for that first lucifer round,” Webb says.

The aim? To tally arsenic acold arsenic imaginable and gain a spot connected nan top-10 leaderboards connected display. Those tables besides show maximum velocity, pinch immoderate officials hitting astir 33km/h; past play Micky van de Ven was clocked arsenic nan fastest subordinate successful nan Premier League astatine 37.12km/h, pinch Anthony Elanga and Bryan Mbeumo joint-second astatine 36.65km/h. Last play top-flight officials recorded almost 350km of runs of astatine slightest 20km/h.

Bunce believes nan spread betwixt players and officials is shrinking. “You don’t want to beryllium adjacent nan bottommost of nan list,” says Peter Bankes, nan coming play his seventh arsenic a top-flight referee. “We’re a team, successful nan trenches together astatine times, we tin person bully weekends and bad weekends. But we’re besides striving for nan large games, nan large appointments, to spell to tournaments, to do cup finals. There has to beryllium that competitory edge. These weeks are cleanable for that.”

Bankes officiated astir 75 matches past season. He refereed 30 games, 23 successful nan Premier League, and besides had 4th charismatic and VAR appointments, nan second astatine location and abroad. Building robustness is crucial. “We don’t want to conscionable header successful games but perform,” says Matt Willmott, nan PGMO’s lead capacity coach. Hill, affiliated pinch PGMO for much than 30 years, says nan purpose is to found unconscious competence regarding beingness demands. “If you’re not worrying astir those, you tin attraction purely connected decision-making and it puts you successful a amended position,” says Wade Smith, who is heading into his 5th play arsenic a Premier League adjunct referee. “It goes manus successful manus pinch being much accurate.”

Officials return portion successful weight training during pre-season training successful Spain. Photograph: Phil Greig

Is fixture congestion a problem for officials, too? “If you consciousness you’re tired and you request a spot of remainder and betterment location are conversations to beryllium had: ‘We tin return you disconnected nan field, remainder you altogether,’” says Bankes. “That astir apt didn’t hap years ago. Now I deliberation group are overmuch much master to say: ‘Next week’s nan 1 wherever I astir apt conscionable request a small spot of a breather.’”

Arne Slot introduced nan Mas trial astatine Liverpool past summertime and Premier League players target astatine slightest 1,800m, a fig eclipsed by immoderate referees. The officials did nan trial doubly earlier flying to Spain but this 1 provides support unit pinch up-to-date metrics. “Twenty seconds [to go], let’s get each past metre retired of you,” says Simon Breivik, nan caput of beingness performance. “And clasp it there,” says Elliot Fletcher, a sports scientist, triggering a benignant of philharmonic statues arsenic nan GPS numbers, from PlayerData, provender into his iPad. Officials make a beeline for Fletcher successful pursuit of their scores, which, Bunce says, they tin entree via an app whether successful Carlisle aliases Kazakhstan.

“I really scrutinise my data,” says Bankes, grabbing a h2o vessel from nan crystal bucket. Lewis Smith, 1 of six officials connected nan supplementary list, which straddles nan Premier League and English Football League, uses and hands retired acold flannels and Andy Madley and Tony Harrington speech high-fives. Those who person conscionable finished, including Thomas Bramall and John Busby, move supporters arsenic nan adjacent batch begin. “Go connected Akil [Howson], get to that adjacent pole, last fewer metres,” says Willmott, nan extremity near.

Smoothies packed pinch fruit, spinach, whey macromolecule and almond food assistance recovery. Is location a superfood? Cacao, says Vicky Smith, a elder sports scientist, because it is rich | successful magnesium: “We want to put premium substance successful premium engines.” Times person changed, assemblage fats person plummeted. Not truthful agelong agone clubs offered referees Budweiser and pizza aft matches. Steve Martin, whose father, Andy, and grandfather Geoff were top-flight officials, is happy aft hitting 31km/h successful a drill, a individual best. “I was up against 1 of nan newer guys truthful I was thinking: ‘I request to hit him,’” says Martin, who predominantly referees successful nan Championship. “I haven’t been injured since I went master [in 2016] – nan correct nutrition helps.”

Senior sports scientis Vicky Smith leads nan officials successful stretching exercises. Photograph: Phil Greig

So, really is nan Mas trial known among officials? “We telephone it hell,” says Howson, grinning. It is approaching 2 years since Howson became nan apical flight’s first achromatic charismatic since Uriah Rennie, whose ceremonial Webb and respective others attended connected nan Monday aft their return. “We want to push each different to nan end. It tin beryllium lonely retired location arsenic an charismatic but we cognize really difficult we activity to get to those apical standards. Now it is retired of nan way, location are a batch much smiles.”

The Premier League, pinch a pursuing of almost 2 billion, is nan most-watched sports convention successful nan world, and truthful galore eyes mean an avalanche of opinion. The sound astir decisions tin beryllium ceaseless. Officiating, Webb says, has ne'er been truthful challenging. David Coote, the referee sacked by PGMO past twelvemonth aft being recovered successful “serious breach” of his contract, said he took cocaine arsenic an “escape way … from nan stresses, nan relentlessness of nan job”. Coote said struggles pinch his sexuality besides contributed to “really mediocre choices”.

“We had a difficult business past twelvemonth pinch 1 of our officials, portion of nan refereeing family and personification we attraction astir arsenic a quality being,” Webb says. “We cognize nan occupation they do is done nether a brighter spotlight than ever. There is undoubtedly a little level of forgiveness … if personification doesn’t work together pinch a decision, past they’re not slow aliases awkward to remark upon that. They person a conveyance now to do truthful and nan measurement immoderate group do that is beautiful inappropriate. Because of nan other scrutiny, we person to guarantee that officials are supported.”

Assistant referees and officials be one-and-a-half-hour sessions wherever they get to grips pinch caller regulations. Photograph: Phil Greig

Throughout nan week nan officials are free to beryllium successful nan lounge aliases locomotion and talk pinch Ryan Pelling, 1 of PGMO’s psychologists. Pelling explains really referees person scheduled one-on-one chats – “there isn’t an action to wholly opt retired because we want to normalise it” – but immoderate people thin connected master thief much often than others. Martin tells really he utilized it to “mentally park” a reliable crippled past season. Visibility is important. “Rather than being boxed-off successful a room that nary 1 other tin spot and it’s this concealed support service,” Pelling says, adding really “corridor conversations” thief build rapport. “Asking personification a mobility arsenic elemental as: ‘How are you?’ You’re very alert that personification mightiness go: ‘Actually, things aren’t going very well.’”

Webb is clear. “Reaching retired for thief – because assurance is debased aliases because of an rumor astatine location aliases because you’ve made a determination that has created a batch of antagonistic attention, which tin beryllium really rather tense – is not a motion of weakness aliases going to impact your appointments. We don’t want guys to suffer successful soundlessness and conscionable think: ‘I’ll get done it.’” Referees are higher-profile than ever. The officials are permitted to usage societal media but must adhere to guidelines. “We don’t want to celebritise referees, we want to humanise them,” Webb says.

Criticism is commonplace. “If I had £1 for each clip personification shouted: ‘You’re not successful line, lino,’ I’d beryllium a millionaire,” says Wade Smith. “You go hyper-focused connected nan crippled and it’s astonishing really galore group say: ‘Do you not perceive each nan group shouting down you?’ A batch of nan time, you don’t.” Madley, whose younger brother, Bobby, is besides connected camp, describes nan occupation arsenic a “peak and trough industry”, saying: “I’ve made decisions connected a Saturday and I’ve had to mobility if I’m successful nan correct style and authorities of mind to referee again 7 days later … There are times you consciousness low, you mightiness person had a decision, crippled aliases games not going truthful well. You request that master advice: ‘This is really we tin get you backmost connected nan bike,’ whether it is aft an wounded aliases a determination you can’t shingle off, because we do transportation them rather heavily.”

There is besides thing of a story to bust. “It’s not needfully conscionable nan bad times; you request them successful nan bully times arsenic good because you person to support your feet connected nan floor,” says Bankes. “You are emotionally drained if a high-profile incident has not gone your measurement and that is wherever nan psychological support is invaluable … you tin really delve into your crippled and look into really you felt astatine nan clip afterwards and think: ‘How tin I study from that?’ When I was coming done nan system, if I had a unsmooth infinitesimal you were beautiful overmuch connected your ain and had to confide successful your family. Now location is truthful overmuch support successful place.”

It is 11am successful a convention room and nan PGMO’s method director, Adam Gale-Watts, plays a euphony video of nan stone set Toto, pausing conscionable earlier Hold nan Line hits nan chorus. By that constituent astir had cottoned connected to nan opus choice. It is successful these kinds of one-and-a-half-hour sessions wherever officials get to grips pinch caller regulations. Hugh Dallas, a erstwhile referee and now coach, and Webb, return it successful turns to stimulate statement and airs questions. Gale-Watts, a erstwhile adjunct referee, runs done nan eight-second norm for goalkeepers to merchandise nan ball, a further clampdown connected time-wasting. “We’re looking for a sensible application,” says Dallas. Madley says they are training to make nan countdown clear for teams and fans. Then location is nan “captains-only” attack to awesome decisions, to forestall referees being swamped by players. “We’re not going to trim disconnected each speech pinch different players,” Bankes says.

The officials are shown contrasting examples of referees trying to defuse a confrontation and reminded of nan value of beardown assemblage language. Dallas reiterates nan request to unopen retired nan sound that comes pinch nan territory. “In nan punishment area, you request to perceive silence,” he says. Webb, aft a clip of a determination that divides nan room, uses different analogy. “Look for nan smoking gun,” he says.

GPS numbers, from PlayerData, measures capacity and tin beryllium accessed via an app. Photograph: Phil Greig

Last play brought nan pilot of stadium announcements for VAR decisions and semi-automated offside technology. VAR, introduced successful nan Premier League successful 2019-20, continues to make a splash. Last season, an independent sheet recorded 18 VAR errors, down from 31 successful 2023-24. “I cognize it’s almost for illustration a bellwether for really successful we are officiating,” Webb says.

Webb highlights really other, subtler norm changes person accrued demands. “Playing a goal-kick aliases protect free-kick wrong your ain punishment area,” he says, alluding to really nan “high-risk, high-reward” of playing retired from nan backmost tin quickly spark large decisions astatine some ends. “I could guidelines connected nan halfway line, hold for nan aerial shot to land, watch for a [No] 9 connected [No] 5 situation ... is location an elbow, a push successful nan back? The crippled is wholly different now.”

Matt Donohue is an EFL referee and Premier League VAR who progressed done a dedicated programme designed to widen nan excavation of VARs. “I understand really it tin beryllium seen arsenic a moth to nan flame,” he says of nan VAR’s job. Is it difficult to replicate nan pressures of match-day, for illustration a punishment shootout? “England person astir apt proven erstwhile they person taken believe earnestly and purposefully … really overmuch they improved successful nan Southgate era and we person replicated that. We’re having a affirmative effect – VAR errors are astatine an all-time low.”

What is it for illustration to beryllium a Premier League charismatic successful this era? “On nan schoolhouse tally connected a Monday greeting group cognize you arsenic nan referee,” Donohue says. Referees are seldom praised compared pinch those pinch whom they stock a pitch. “People mightiness deliberation nan premier curate should get a small spot of emotion for what he’s doing but I don’t deliberation he sits location astatine nighttime reasoning he should,” Donohue says. “We’re doing nan occupation we love.”