PGMOL head and officials spotted in Old Trafford's corporate seating
PGMOL head Howard Webb and representatives Jonathan Moss and Martin Atkinsons take in Man United’s 1-0 victory against Wolves in Old Trafford’s corporate seating – before ‘apologising’ to Gary O’Neil over controversial VAR decision
- Moss, Atkinson, and Webb had plenty to take in following controversial VAR call
- PGMOL regularly sends representatives to watch Premier League ties in person
- WATCH: ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ – Episode 1 – Mail Sport’s brand new football show
Head of the PGMOL Howard Webb and representatives Martin Atkinson and Jonathan Moss were pictured in a corporate hospitality lounge at Old Trafford ahead of Manchester United’s victory against Wolves on Monday evening.
Atkinson and Moss, who retired from refereeing in 2022, took up roles in the organisation in 2022, whilst Webb has been head of the PGMOL since last August.
Whilst fans on social media were quick to circulate the image accompanied by hints of conspiracy theories, Webb, Atkinson, and Moss’ attendance in corporate seating at Premier League games is standard practice when the team assesses referees, in a bid to give them greater privacy.
PGMOL officials will regularly visit matches in person – as well as watching from the VAR Hub at Stockley Park – and kicked off the start of the Premier League season with in-person attendance across a number of the campaign’s opening fixtures.
Webb, Atkinson, and Moss will have had much to think about as they took in Monday night’s game, which saw the first controversial VAR call of the season take place in the dying moments of the second-half.
PGMOL head Howard Webb (centre, standing), and his colleagues Jonathan Moss and Martin Atkinson were snapping in Old Trafford’s corporate hospitality – but their attendance is in line with standard practice at the organisation
The match had no shortage of VAR controversy, including failure to give a penalty after Andre Onana collided with Sasa Kalajdzic moments before time
United were close to squandering their one-goal lead during injury time when Andre Onana hurtled off his line to claim an incoming cross, but instead clattered Sasa Kalajdzic.
In what pundit Danny Murphy deemed ‘incompetence’, VAR failed to overturn referee Simon Hooper’s initial decision that Wolves did not deserve a penalty, and opted not to send him over to the monitor for a second look at the incident.
Wolves’ manager Gary O’Neil was booked on the sidelines for his protestations over the incident, and Man United saw out a lead to hand them their opening three points of the season.
O’Neil later revealed that Moss had apologised to him for the ‘blatant penalty’, but the Wolves boss revealed the gesture ‘only made (him) feel worse’.
On Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that the officials responsible had been stood down from this weekend’s Premier League schedule, with Hooper, VAR Michael Salisbury, and assistant VAR Richard West all overlooked for appointments.
Since his promotion to chief refereeing officer last year, Webb has sought to provide greater insight for supporters into VAR decisions.
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Howard Webb is keen to increase transparency for supporters into decisions made by VAR
The PGMOL’s latest venture will see Webb introduce a monthly ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ programme in which viewers can listen into VAR decisions made during Premier League games.
Webb previously appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football last season to share and discuss the audio of match officials in a Premier League game for the first time, in a bid to give fans more transparency over how the calls are made.
The PGMOL are reportedly keen to take the idea a step further, and let fans listen into conversations live during televised games, however, football’s rulemakers IFAB do not currently allow the innovation.
Instead, the governing body only permits retrospective recordings to be published.
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