I got this on e-mail, so no source, and unsure of how true it is, but worthy of posting I thought.....Rob Styles, the most controversial referee in the Barclays Premier League,
is to quit after becoming disillusioned with the intense demands of
officiating.
Referees' chief Keith Hackett and the FA will receive Styles's resignation
letter informing them he is retiring early. Styles, who is also on the
FIFA list, becomes the third high-profile official to walk away from
football in five years following the resignations of Graham Barber in 2004
and Graham Poll in 2007.
And, while there will be plenty within the game who will not be sorry to
see Styles go, his decision to end a 22-year career must surely spark a
debate about the pressures referees are facing amid a backdrop of
increasing scrutiny of their performances.
Styles, 45, has seen red cards he has issued overturned, he has had
penalty decisions criticised, he has been forced to apologise to managers
following mistakes and he has even been stripped of topflight games.
Feeling he has not received the backing of the FA and the Professional
Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), Styles, who is a surveyor and whose
business interests outside of football have made him a wealthy man, has
reluctantly reached the conclusion that he simply does not need the
aggravation associated with being a referee any longer.
He has seen his appointments to high-profile games dwindle as the
questions and criticisms of his performances increased. Indeed, Styles has
not been handed a 'golden game' - a match which involves two of the top
four clubs or a major derby match - for 18 months.
His exit means the Premier League will have, at most, 17 select group
referees - the only professional referees in England - to count on
compared to 24 in June 2001.
In addition. Peter Walton, 49, Steve Bennett, 48, and Alan Wiley, 49, are
on extensions.
The normal retirement age is 48 but officials can carry on with a reduced
workload. With Walton and Mike Riley on the shortlist to replace referees'
boss Hackett - the successful applicant is expected to move to PGMOL this
summer before taking over from Hackett next year - that could leave just
13 referees available next season.
Two of those are Stuart Attwell and Mike Jones, who were added to the list
last season and suffered difficult starts to their careers as topflight
officials. Kevin Friend has been called up for next season, and the
shortage means the three new boys will need to referee more games than
originally anticipated.
The pressure on the remaining 10 will be immense given they will be
required to officiate virtually every week. And there will be little room
for the authorities to take them out of the firing line should they make a
mistake.