Soccer-English Premier League refereeing body rebrands as Pro Ref


Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Newcastle United - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - May 24, 2026 Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes is shown a yellow card by referee Robert Jones Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

June 30 (Reuters) - ⁠Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), English ⁠soccer's professional refereeing body, ‌has rebranded to Professional Game Referees, or Pro Ref, England's Football Association said ​on Tuesday.

Backed by ⁠increased funding from ⁠the Premier League, the English Football ⁠League (EFL), ‌the FA and Women's Super League under ⁠a three-year agreement, Pro Ref will ​expand ‌programmes to develop refereeing talent, ⁠it ​said in a statement.

As part of the changes, top-tier referees ⁠who primarily officiate Premier ​League matches and work as video assistant referee (VAR) and referees who ⁠officiate in the EFL Championship and other EFL competitions will be combined into a single ​group. This ⁠will oversee matches in both the ​Premier League and ‌the EFL Championship.

(Reporting ​by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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