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Victor Petkov
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Premier League referees required to share which teams they support
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Howard Webb assured that referees will need to declare "any specific interests" for next season

The English Premier League is set to introduce an unusual measure for the upcoming season that could spark significant debate. Referees in England will be required to disclose which team they support in order to avoid conflicts of interest, a move prompted by an incident last season when Nottingham Forest accused a VAR referee of being a supporter of Luton Town.

In April, Forest issued a statement expressing their concerns that Stuart Attwell, the VAR official during their defeat to Everton, was a fan of Luton Town, a team that was competing with Forest in the relegation battle.

Howard Webb, the director of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), assured that referees will need to declare “any specific interests” for this season.

“We will analyze it and make adjustments if we think there might be a conflict of interest if you declare yourself as a fan of a particular team. If you have played for a certain club, we will consider that too. We are trying to encourage more players to become referees, so this is something we need to work on. And if you have personal connections with people working in the clubs, we will also evaluate all of that and take it into account when appointing referees,” Webb stated.