Mike Riley to step down as head of referees at PGMOL next season

Riley has been in charge since 2009

Mike Riley will step down as the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) ahead of the new season. Riley has been in charge since 2009 after replacing Keith Hackett after he had spent 20 years refereeing in the top-flight. The 57-year-old's role is now set to be split amongst multiple people, with the PGMOL looking to appoint a chief refereeing officer to help develop match officials and a chief operating organiser, who will manage the PGMOL on a day-to-day basis.

'Now is the right time to plan for the future'

After the news of his departure, Riley released a statement saying: "I am proud of the contribution our match officials have made to the professional game and have enjoyed working with such a dedicated, professional and high-quality group at all of the levels that PGMOL manages. "As the Elite Referee Development Plan begins to take shape, now is the right time to plan for the future and allow the new leadership team to build on the strong foundations that we have in place. I look forward to working with the new team over the next season and giving them my support before I step down." Premier League chief executive Richard Masters paid tribute to Riley for the work he has done in his career. He said: "On behalf of the Premier League, I would like to thank Mike for his valuable contribution and significant commitment to PGMOL over the last 13 years as well as his considerable service to the game as an elite referee for 20 years. "During his time at PGMOL, he has worked hard to deliver and develop high-quality match officials across the professional game and led on the implementation of VAR into the Premier League three seasons ago." Related links:

• Steven Gerrard gives brutal response when told Jon Moss is retiring
• Referee Mike Dean reveals his daughter was sent death threats after a game
• Referee Mike Dean to retire from refereeing at the end of the season