A video appearing to show Premier League referee David Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp has put the allegiances of officials in the English game under the spotlight.
Whilst no one expects Premier League referees not to support a club away from the pitch – the majority of them are football fans after all – they must observe complete neutrality when taking charge of matches.
But exactly which teams do the Premier League referees support?
Let’s take a look at some of the favourite clubs of the men tasked with keeping the law and order in the most popular domestic league in the world.
Which clubs do the Premier League referees support?
Of the pool of referees who currently officiate in the Premier League, only a handful of them support teams actually playing in the competition.
Michael Oliver, widely regarded as the best referee of the current crop, is a huge Newcastle United fan, whilst Greater Manchester-born Antony Taylor supports National League side Altrincham.
Coote, meanwhile, is a Notts County fan having been born in Nottinghamshire.
Swindon Town can boast two referees as supporters of their club – Simon Hooper and Graham Scot, whilst Wigan have Darren Bond and Paul Tierney owing their allegiance to the League One side.
Premier League referees and their favourite teams
- Sam Allison – Unknown but used to play for Bournemouth
- Stuart Attwell – Luton Town
- Peter Bankes – Unknown but has never refereed Liverpool or Everton
- Samuel Barrott – Unknown
- Darren Bond – Wigan but has never refereed Liverpool or Everton
- Thomas Bramall – Unknown but has never refereed a Sheffield club
- John Brookes – Believed to be Leicester City
- David Coote – Notts County, has never refereed a Forest game
- Darren England – Barnsley
- Sunny Singh Gill – Unknown
- Jarred Gillett – Liverpool
- Tony Harrington – Hartlepool
- Simon Hooper – Swindon Town
- Rob Jones – Unknown but has never refereed Liverpool or Everton
- Chris Kavanagh – Droylsden
- Andy Madley – Huddersfield Town
- Bobby Madley – Huddersfield Town
- Michael Oliver – Newcastle United
- Craig Pawson – Sheffield United
- Tim Robinson – Unknown
- Michael Salisbury – Unknown
- Graham Scot – Swindon Town
- Anthony Taylor – Altrincham
- Paul Tierney – Wigan Athletic
Are they allowed to referee games involving their favourite club?
Unsurprisingly, Premier League referees are not allowed to take charge of games involving the club they support – or even those of their main rivals.
Keith Hackett, former head of the PGMOL who oversee referee appointments, said: ‘At the beginning of every season the referees’ background information is audited.
‘They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they’ve played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.
‘That gives you a picture that comes into use when you’re appointing. It’s about ensuring, for example, you wouldn’t appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team.’
Referee appointments are also strictly controlled when it comes to games that have a direct impact on an official’s favourite club.
Michael Oliver told the Daily Mail: ‘I never referee Newcastle games. We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club.
‘You can’t do any match involving that team and I can’t do Sunderland, either, for obvious reasons. Because Newcastle are invariably involved in a relegation battle, when you get to March or April, it means I can’t referee anyone around them towards the bottom three.
‘If Newcastle needed a point to survive and the team they were fighting to get above was say Villa, I couldn’t referee Villa’s game either. I wouldn’t want to. It’s not worth the hassle.’
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