Australian referee Jarred Gillett will join PGMOL’s Select Group 2 for season 2019/20 after emigrating to the United Kingdom from his home country.
Gillett, 32, has been offered and accepted a position at Liverpool John Moore’s University, specialising in research on young adults with Cerebral Palsy, which starts in April 2019, but he was keen to continue working as a referee. His job offer is subject to obtaining the relevant visa.
Gillett is one of Australia’s most experienced referees, he was appointed to the A-League referees list in 2010 and to the FIFA referees list in 2013. He has since officiated more than 150 A-League games, has been awarded the A-League Referee of the Year award on five occasions and has refereed the Grand Final five times. He is also an experienced Video Assistant Referee.
Mike Riley, PGMOL Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Jarred to the English game. He is hugely experienced and demonstrates a number of key attributes that we expect from our referees.
"He has strong and highly effective player management skills, a strong understanding of the game, and is well respected by the players and coaches in Australia. This is a great opportunity for Jarred, combined with the opportunity at Liverpool John Moore’s University, and we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Ben Wilson, the Head of Refereeing at the A-League, said: “Jarred is a very talented referee who has provided great service to the A League and FFA over a number of years.
"Whilst we are obviously sad to see him leave Australia this is a great opportunity for him and his family to further his professional and refereeing ambitions and we wish him every success.
"Following the appointment of Chris Beath and Peter Green at the Asian Cup and the elevation of Kurt Ams and Jonathan Barreiro to the FIFA panel for 2019, this demonstrates the quality of our referee panel and the esteem in which it is held in world football.”
Notes to editors:
- Formed in 2001 to improve refereeing standards, the PGMOL group officiate across all the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and Football Association (FA) Competitions – all three organisations fund it. The training, development and mentoring of 110 referees and 175 assistant referees – run by Managing Director Mike Riley (a former PGMOL referee) and a team of managers and coaches. Currently, PGMOL have 65 Select Group match officials who are full-time professional, consisting of the Select Group 1 Referees, Select Group 1 Assistant Referees and Select Group 2 Referees.
- Select Group 2, currently consisting of 20 referees and 36 assistant referees, officiate across the Sky Bet Championship and support development of refereeing standards across the Sky Bet EFL. Its introduction in 2016 was made possible thanks to financial investment from Championship clubs, which has since enabled officials to meet regularly, share learning, and improve consistency on the pitch. This investment to support development of match officials in the EFL is part of a joint initiative adopted across English backed by the EFL in conjunction with the FA and the Premier League.