The Premier League’s new refereeing chief Howard Webb wants former players to become professional referees.
Webb, the newly appointed head refereeing officer at PGMOL, is keen to grow the pool of potential talent for Premier League officials.
Current top-flight referees Simon Hooper and Darren England have experience as players during academy days at Swindon and Barnsley respectively.
The 2022 World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak, who was widely praised for his performance in Qatar, was mentored by Webb and also had experience as a semi-pro player.