PGMOL set for huge change as veteran Premier League referee quits job mid-season

Professional Game Match Officials Limited will reportedly replace Martin Atkinson with Hugh Dallas when the former referee leaves next month.

Atkinson, 53, is the select group one manager and has worked for the body responsible for refereeing games since retiring from officiating at the end of the 2021/22 season. He initially joined as the select group one coach, with fellow former top-flight referee Jon Moss appointed the group's manager after also retiring following that same season.

Atkinson replaced Moss when he was made the group's director before leaving the body in March. Now, nine months after that departure, Atkinson will again replace Moss by becoming manager at the Scottish Football Association.

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He joins in early December, and those north of the border will hope Atkinson lasts longer than his predecessor, who stepped down in September 52 days after starting in August. Moss left to become the new head of referees at Football Australia.

As for PGMOL, the Mirror reports that former Scottish Premier League referee Dallas will step up in Atkinson's absence. They claim the North Lanarkshire native is taking on broader responsibilities in addition to his existing role as an adviser to the select group, working closely with chief refereeing officer Howard Webb.

Dallas joined PGMOL in July after serving as the referee development consultant for the Turkish Football Federation's Arbitration Committee and, before that, the Scottish FA's referee development officer. The 66-year-old was also a referee supervisor at the in Germany this summer but left the tournament to start working with PGMOL.