Poll Calls on Referees to Explain Contentious Decisions

After a season of high-profile refereeing errors, former Premier League official Graham Poll has called for greater transparency between the media, match officials and the general public before the new campaign kicks off in August.

From Martin Atkinson wrongly awarding Chelsea a goal in their FA Cup quarter final against Tottenham, to Stuart Atwell's controversial sending off of Gary Cahill for a challenge on Scott Parker; the spotlight has once again been shone on the standard of refereeing in the Premier League this season.

But despite calls for the use of video technology to be introduced, Poll believes the most pressing concern should be the relationship between match officials and the public about why certain calls are made.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Poll outlined three areas of improvement to the current system he would like to see before next season.

"[First] fourth officials to be in an isolated area watching the game and helping the active officials, rather than just taking a verbal lashing from managers," said Poll. "They won't deal with the managers' excesses as they might be refereeing them the week after.

"[Second] an open assessment system of referees that is made public so that we can all see how they are rated. It's all too cloak and dagger and too often referees appear not to be accountable for errors.

"[Third] the communication ban on match officials to be lifted. Let them speak and educate the public and show how hard they try and how much they care about what they do."

Tests are currently underway at Southampton's St. Mary's stadium on the Hawk-Eye goal-line technology system currently employed in rugby, cricket and tennis to rule on contentious decisions. The International FA Board (IFAB) is set to rule in July whether the technology can be utilised.