The Premier League referee Bobby Madley, one of the rising stars among the league’s officials, who took charge of last year’s Community Shield, has abruptly quit and ended his career in English football. The 32-year-old was on the FIFA list and one of those whom the Premier League had hoped would become one of Europe’s leading referees and the circumstances around his departure are still unclear. It is understood that it could be linked to a video on social media although that could not be confirmed.
Madley, from West Yorkshire, had been a FIFA list referee since January of last year making him eligible to take charge of international fixtures and also European games. He was well-regarded at the Premier League, for which he had been taking charge of games for more than three years and was one of the youngest senior referees. His older brother, Andrew, 34, is a Football League referee in the select group 2 and took charge of his first Premier League game last season. Bobby Madley was trusted with some high-profile fixtures in recent seasons including Manchester United’s home games against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea and Liverpool - Arsenal. He had refereed the Community Shield game between Arsenal and Chelsea in August last year. His departure, revealed by Telegraph Sport online, had not been disclosed to Madley’s fellow select group referees by their organisation Professional Game Match Officials. He had been left off the matchlist for the first rounds of Premier League and Football League fixtures which is unusual but not unprecedented in an organisation in which referees can come in and out of favour. In a statement PGMOL said: “Bobby Madley is no longer employed by PGMOL. We understand that he has decided to relocate due to a change in his personal circumstances.” The 32-year-old is set to quit the UK and emigrate to the Scandinavian country with his Norwegian partner later this year. Madley could now officiate in Norway and there has already been contact with the refereeing governing body in the country. The Head of the Norwegian Refereeing, Terje Hauge, told TV 2 that Madley was open to officiating games for the Eliteserien, Norway's professional football league. He said: “We have received an inquiry confirming that he is going to Norway. We have talked to him once and we agree to stay in touch. He moves during the fall. When visiting, we will have good conversations with him. If he is motivated to become part of our environment, he is welcome.” Mystery still surrounds the exact reasons why Madley will no longer be officiating in the English top flight. He was not present at the mandatory pre-season meeting of all select group officials at St George’s Park where they are briefed and prepared. His sudden departure leaves the select group of 18 referees down to 17. The other referee not yet appointed to a game so far is Roger East, who failed the fitness test. Mike Riley, the managing director of PGMOL, who is a key figure in preparing for the Premier League’s adoption of video assistant referees next season, is expected to address his referees on the details of Madley’s departure this week. The select group will gather at St George’s Park for the first of this season’s regular meetings in which they review performances and discuss decisions. PGMOL are under pressure to develop a new generation of referees and especially from next year, with the introduction of VAR, given the increased number of officials that will require for every game. Riley and his PGMOL deputy Adam Gale-Watts, a former assistant referee, are in charge of assigning referees and assistants to games. They are also the most influential figures in developing their careers and competence of their top referees and the loss of Madley will come as a blow to the organisation. The select group lost Mark Clattenburg, who quit in the 2016-2017 season to become the head of refereeing for the Saudi Arabian football federation. Martin Atkinson stepped down from refereeing international competitions last season. PGMOL have 18 select group referees from whom they make their appointments. Referees can fall off the list if they get injured or if they fail the annual fitness tests.
Source: The Telegraph
