Premier League Referee Rankings for February 2016

1. Mark Clattenburg (+1)
2. Martin Atkinson (-1)
3. Mike Dean (no change)
4. Michael Oliver (no change)
5. Anthony Taylor (no change)
7. Craig Pawson (+1)
6. Jonathan Moss (-1)
8. Andre Marriner (no change)
9. Mike Jones (no change)
10. Robert Madley (+2)
11. Lee Probert (-1)
12. Phil Dowd (-1)
13. Lee Mason (no change)
15. Neil Swarbrick (+1)
14. Roger East (-1)
16. Kevin Friend (no change)
17. Graham Scott (no change)

Mark Clattenburg is our January Referee of the Month

This was one of the hardest months for us to make a decision on thus far, as there was no Champions League or Continental Tournament to help distinguish referees from the pack. However, in our eyes Mark Clattenburg had a good month which included being named to Euro 2016. In fact, he seems to be considered one of the best referees in Europe right now, as well as a top 2 referee in England.

What do you want to see from this blog?

With this blog approaching 9 months of existence, I wanted to hear from you what you want to see us do more of: performances analysis, appointments, or refereeing news. Drop a comment with what you want to see!

Premier League Referee Rankings for January 2016

1. Martin Atkinson (no change)
2. Mark Clattenburg (no change)
3. Mike Dean (no change)
4. Michael Oliver (no change)
5. Anthony Taylor (no change)
6. Jonathan Moss (no change)
7. Craig Pawson (no change)
8. Andre Marriner (no change)
9. Mike Jones (+2)
10. Lee Probert (-1)
11. Phil Dowd (-1)
12. Robert Madley (+2)
13. Lee Mason (-2)
15. Roger East (+1)
14. Neil Swarbrick (-1)
16. Kevin Friend (no change)
17. Graham Scott (no change)

And the 2015 Referee of the Year is......

Brych

Congratulations to Felix Brych of Germany, who was named our 2015 Referee of the Year. Although Brych didn't referee a major final, he was in our opinion the most dependable referee for UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and EURO 2016 Qualifying. Brych was someone who stayed out of the headlines as a referee, which is often a good thing because it indicates a lack of huge errors. Do you agree or disagree? Tell us in the comments!

Alireza Faghani is our December Referee of the Month

Faghani

Alireza Faghani was voted by our writers as the Referee of the Month for December after a strong performance at the Club World Cup which saw him referee both the 5th place match and the Final. He was strong in both matches, giving him a strong finale to a stellar year in which he refereed the AFC Asian Cup final in January. Overall, a well deserved award for Faghani.

Busy Festive Period for BPL Referees: We have updates on every big decision

Boxing Day (December 26)
-Andre Marriner was busy in Chelsea-Watford, correctly awarding one penalty for each team, one for a handball by Nemanja Matic and another when Eden Hazard had his legs taken out by Valon Behrami. Overall, Marriner was one of the best performing referees this weekend

Mike Jones is approached by Norwich players after Tottenham converted the penalty

-Mike Jones also could have called two penalty kicks in his match, Tottenham-Norwich. He correctly pointed to the spot early on when Harry Kane was tripped by keeper Declan Rudd, but also should've blown the whistle when Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris knocked down Cameron Jerome.

-Arsenal fans as well as manager Arsene Wenger were incensed at Jonathan Moss and his crew after several calls went against the Gunners, believing there was an infraction in the buildup on the first three of Southampton's four goals, saying that the plays were respectively made possible by an offsides, a foul, and an incorrect corner kick decision. Wenger is correct, though it should be pointed out that Moss and his team correctly disallowed two of Southampton's goals for infractions.

Matchday 19 (December 28-30)
-Anthony Taylor and his crew were very busy at Vicarage Road for Watford-Tottenham, with Taylor becoming the first referee to show a red card during the festive period when he correctly sent off Nathan Ake for a high boot. However, the real moment of controversy came when Son Heung-Min's late winner for Tottenham appeared to be offsides. It was slight, but assistant Stuart Burt still should have seen the infraction.
-Kevin Friend appeared to make a key mistake in Sunderland-Liverpool when he failed to send off Jeremain Lens for a rough two-footed slide that took out Mamadou Sakho. Friend did show a yellow, but it looked like serious foul play and therefore a red card to me.

Premier League Referee Rankings for December 2015

1. Martin Atkinson (no change)
2. Mark Clattenburg (no change)
3. Mike Dean (+1)
4. Michael Oliver (-1)
5. Anthony Taylor (no change)
6. Jonathan Moss (+1)
7. Craig Pawson (-1)
8. Andre Marriner (+2)
9. Lee Probert (-1)
10. Phil Dowd (-1)
11. Mike Jones (+1)
12. Robert Madley (+2)
13. Lee Mason (-2)
14. Neil Swarbrick (-1)
15. Roger East (no change)
16. Kevin Friend (no change)
17. Graham Scott (no change)

BONUS SECTION
Promotion Candidate Rankings
1. Keith Stroud
2. Paul Tierney
3. Stuart Attwell
4. Simon Hooper

2015 FIFA Club World Cup Appointments

Alireza Faghani, assigned to the 5th Place Match and the Final

Playoff Round

Sanfreece Hiroshima vs. Auckland City
Referee: Sidi Alioum (Cameroon)
Assistant Referee: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon)
Assistant Referee: Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue (Cameroon)
Fourth Official: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

Quarterfinals
Club America vs. Guangzhou Evergrande
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Assistant Referee: Mathias Klasenius (Sweden)
Assistant Referee: Daniel Warnmark (Sweden)
Fourth Official: Sidi Alioum (Cameroon)

TP Mazembe vs. Sanfreece Hiroshima
Referee: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)
Assistant Referee: Alexander Guzman (Colombia)
Assistant Referee: Cristian De La Cruz (Colombia)
Fourth Official: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

Semifinals
River Plate vs. Sanfreece Hiroshima
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Assistant Referee: Mathias Klasenius (Sweden)
Assistant Referee: Daniel Warnmark (Sweden)
Fourth Official: Matt Conger (New Zealand)

Barcelona vs. Guangzhou Evergrande
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
Assistant Referee: Juan Zumba (El Salvador)
Assistant Referee: Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)

Fifth Place Match
Club America vs. TP Mazembe
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Assistant Referee: Reza Sokhandan (Iran)
Assistant Referee: Mohammadreza Mansouri (Iran)
Fourth Official: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Third Place Match 
Sanfreece Hiroshima vs. Guangzhou Evergrande
Referee: Matt Conger (New Zealand)
Assistant Referee: Tevita Makasini (Tahiti)
Assistant Referee: Simon Lount (New Zealand)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (Colombia)
Fifth Official: Alexander Guzman (Colombia)

Final
River Plate vs. Barcelona
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Assistant Referee: Reza Sokhandan (Iran)
Assistant Referee: Mohammadreza Mansouri (Iran)
Fourth Official: Sidi Alioum (Cameroon)
Fifth Official: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon)

MLS Cup Final Report: Poor performance from Marrufo and his crew

Columbus Crew vs. Portland Timbers
Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States, photo)
Assistant Referee: Peter Manikowski (United States)
Assistant Referee: Corey Parker (United States)
Fourth Official: Chris Penso (United States)
Fifth Official: James Conlee (United States)

Columbus 1-2 Portland
7th Minute: Rodney Wallace scores a key goal for the Timbers to give them a 2-0 lead, but it appeared the ball had been dribbled well out of the field by Darlington Nagbe in the build up. Assuming the ball was out, Columbus' Tony Tchani had given up on the play, resulting in a break for Portland. Huge miss by AR Corey Parker
60th Minute: Wallace has a short range effort appear to hit the crossbar and then the arm of Columbus' Michael Parkhurst on the goal line. In my opinion, this should have been a penalty and a red card, but Marrufo doesn't call it.

Angry Columbus fans protest the in bounds call by littering the field with cans

Pavel Kralovec is our November Referee of the Month

Pavel Kralovec was named our referee of the month for November after strong performances in two Champions League matches during the month. First, his performance in a matchday 4 clash between Kiev and Chelsea was exceptional. Then, more recently, Kralovec had a solid performance in a match between Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven. Overall, a much deserved honor for Kralovec.

Premier League Review Week 14

Manchester City 3-1 Southampton         Referee: Roger East
East found himself at the center of controversy after he missed two clear handballs that prevented goals.
20th Minute: City's Fernandinho beats the Southampton keeper with a powerful strike, only have his shot blocked by Steven Davis' outstretched arm. East doesn't call a foul, but he should've called a penalty and sent off Long for DOGSO.
61st Minute: Southampton's Shane Long gets a volley to head towards the goal, when Fernandinho knocks the ball out with his arm. Again, East doesn't see the infraction, and I think this should've been a penalty and a yellow card for Fernandinho.

Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City                      Referee: Mike Dean
Dean once again found himself facing criticism after a questionable dismissal of a Stoke player.
47th Minute: Stoke Captain Ryan Shawcross is already booked when he makes a sliding challenge on Duncan Watmore, appearing to win the ball cleanly. Dean sees this challenge as a foul that stopped a promising attack, and shows Shawcross a second yellow, which is unfortunately an incorrect decision.

Liverpool 1-0 Swansea City                   Referee: Anthony Taylor
Taylor himself didn't have a big decision to make, but his linesman had to deal with serious criticism over his decision on a handball that led to Liverpool's only goal of the match.
61st Minute: Jordan Ibe's cross appears to hit the semi-tucked arm of Swansea's Neil Taylor, which AR Simon Beck sees as a penalty and informs the referee Taylor, who points to the spot. Swansea were upset over the fact that Neil Taylor couldn't have done anything to avoid the ball hitting his arm, since he was so close to Ibe at the time of the cross. However, I agree with the linesman, since Neil Taylor could have easily fully tucked his arm to avoid contact.

Bournemouth 3-3 Everton                                      Referee: Kevin Friend
Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United                   Referee: Craig Pawson
Crystal Palace 5-1 Newcastle                                 Referee: Paul Tierney
Aston Villa 2-3 Watford                                         Referee: Lee Mason
Tottenham 0-0 Chelsea                                           Referee: Michael Oliver
West Ham United 1-1 West Bromwich Albion      Referee: Martin Atkinson
Norwich City 1-1 Arsenal                                       Referee: Jonathan Moss
These seven referees all had strong performances with nothing to go in depth on. Nice work by them and their crews.

My apologies for not publishing much recently. I'll try to do more in December.

UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying Playoffs Leg 1 Reports

Norway 0-1 Hungary                              Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
Clattenburg and his crew were pretty good overall, but I think AAR Jonathan Moss may have missed a hold by a Hungary player in the box in the 56th minute. Otherwise, it was a solid performance, though I do wonder why Moss, who isn't a FIFA referee, was assigned to an important playoff match.

Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-1 Ireland         Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
It was a commendable performance from Brych and his crew, who had an almost perfect game in extremely foggy circumstances in Bosnia. The vision must have been poor for Brych and his crew, which makes a good performance that much more impressive. Nothing to go in depth on from this match.

Sweden 2-1 Denmark                              Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
Rizzoli was the first referee to call a penalty during the qualifiers, and I agree with his decision
49th Minute: Denmark's Thomas Kahlenberg trips up Emil Forsberg on the edge of the area. Rizzoli was in great position to see the infraction and points to the spot. I agree with this decision, since there was clear contact by Kahlenberg on Forsberg's ankle.

Ukraine 2-0 Slovenia                               Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Eriksson had an excellent performance in Ukraine, showing great skill in man management especially. Nothing to go in depth on from a quiet match overall.

Leg 2 Reports coming tomorrow!            

Alberto Undiano Mallenco is our October Referee of the Month

Mallenco

Alberto Undiano Mallenco was named our October Referee of the Month primarily based on his performance in PSV Eindhoven-VFL Wolfsburg, in which he did an excellent job managing the came and keeping things under control. Mallenco has also seen some big league appointments this year, and is a leading candidate to be appointed for El Classico.

Premier League Review Week 11: Stroud shows red in rare BPL match

Watford 2-0 West Ham United                    Referee: Keith Stroud
Stroud is fighting for a promotion next season and things are going well for him so far.
84th Minute: West Ham's James Collins comes in with a hard late challenge from behind on Odion Ighalo. Stroud shows Collins a straight red and I agree due to how unnecessary the foul by Collins was. He seemed to have no intention of getting the ball and every intention of taking down Ighalo.

Stroud shows Collins the red card after a brutal foul

Manchester City 2-1 Norwich City              Referee: Robert Madley
Madley was criticized for his shaky derby performance last week, but rebounded well this week with 2 correct penalty decisions.
88th Minute: Man City summer signing Raheem Sterling takes a shot after he wins a loose ball from an out of position Norwich keeper John Ruddy. Norwich's Russell Martin has no choice but to stop the ball from going into the net with his arm. Madley sees the infraction and correctly calls a penalty and sends Martin off.
96th Minute: Sterling is again on the ball when he is hacked down in the box by Robbie Brady. The contact was clear and left Madley with no choice but to point to the spot.

West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Leicester City Referee: Anthony Taylor
Taylor called one penalty in this match, but I unfortunately have to disagree with his decision.
83rd Minute: Leicester's Nathan Dyer appears to make a clean challenge on Callum McManaman in the box, but Taylor deems that Dyer made contact with McManaman and whistles for a penalty kick. When I see the play on replay, I just don't see how there was enough contact to warrant a penalty.

Southampton 2-0 Bournemouth                   Referee: Craig Pawson
Pawson had one big call to make in this South Coast Derby, and I think he got it right.
78th Minute: Southampton's Victor Wanyama is already on a yellow when he hacks down Lee Tomlin near the box. Pawson sees the foul shows Wanyama a second yellow, which makes sense given the positioning of the foul as well as the rough nature of it.

Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United         Referee: Mike Jones
Newcastle 0-0 Stoke City                             Referee: Roger East
Swansea City 0-3 Arsenal                            Referee: Kevin Friend
Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool                                  Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Everton 6-2 Sunderland                                Referee: Andre Marriner
Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa                           Referee: Mike Dean
These six all had quiet games with not much controversy. Nice work by them and their crews.

Premier League Review Week 10: Madley questioned for Wear-Tyne derby call

Sunderland 3-0 Newcastle                              Referee: Robert Madley
Madley came under fire for a very questionable penalty and red card decision against Fabricio Coloccini.
45+1st Minute: Sunderland's Steven Fletcher is running through on goal when Fabricio Coloccini knocks him off the ball with a shoulder-to-shoulder nudge. Madley calls a penalty and sends Coloccini off for Denial of an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity, though I wouldn't have even called a foul since the contact was very slight and shoulder-to-shoulder.

Madley making the controversial decision

West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea                       Referee: Jonathan Moss
Moss was the latest referee to draw the ire of Jose Mourinho, though I thought he was pretty good in the match overall.
44th Minute: Chelsea's Nemanja Matic is already booked when he comes in hard on Diafra Sakho to stop a Hammers attack. Moss originally just awards a free kick, but correctly gives Matic a second yellow after conferring with AR Harry Lennard. Moss did well to manage the effects of the decision by correctly showing yellows to two Chelsea players who took part in a mass confrontation after the play, as well as dismissing Jose Mourinho for pursuing the incident into the tunnel at half time.

Arsenal 2-1 Everton                                      Referee: Lee Mason
It was a very quiet match for Mason until chose to send off Gareth Barry with under 30 seconds left.
94th Minute: Kieran Gibbs is running down the wing for Arsenal when his attack is slowed by a clip from an already booked Barry. Mason chooses to give Barry a second yellow and I agree since Mason didn't really have a choice given that the foul stopped a promising attack.

Bournemouth 1-5 Tottenham                       Referee: Roger East
East had another good performance as he starts to see more action following an illness that kept him out for 6 weeks.
9th Minute: As Harry Kane gets the ball in the box, he is clearly tripped up by Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc. Easy penalty decision for East, who correctly points to the spot.

Liverpool 1-1 Southampton                         Referee: Andre Marriner
94th Minute: Southampton goal-scorer Sadio Mane is already booked when he trips up Alberto Moreno as he sprints up the wing. This was a clear stopping a promising attack scenario, and therefore I agree with Marriner's decision to show Mane a second yellow.

Aston Villa 1-2 Swansea                              Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Leicester City 1-0 Crystal Palace                 Referee: Mike Dean
Stoke City 0-2 Watford                                Referee: Martin Atkinson
Norwich City 0-1 West Bromwich Albion  Referee: Kevin Friend
Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City     Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Swarbrick, Dean, Atkinson, Friend and their crews had quiet games with not much controversy overall. Nothing to go in depth on from these four matches.

MLS Decision Day Reports: Huge Calls by Assistants Play Major Roll in West Playoffs

Philadelphia 1-0 Orlando                       Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Penso showed 10 yellow cards in this match, with one being a second yellow.
40th Minute: Orlando's Cristian Higuita pushes over Sebastien Le Toux as he goes for a cross into the box. Penso calls a penalty and I agree since although Le Toux had no chance of getting to the ball, Higuita still committed a foul on Le Toux. Good decision by Penso.
86th Minute: Higuita is already booked for a foul in the 72nd minute when he slaps Tranquillo Barnetta in the face as they are fighting for possession. Easy call for Penso, who correctly gives a second yellow to Higuita.

NYCFC 1-3 New England                     Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Marrufo called one late penalty in this match in favor of NYCFC.
91st Minute: Marrufo points to the spot after New England's Daigo Kobayashi blocks a cross with his arm, which is slightly extended from his body. Good call by Marrufo, though the decision was meaningless in a Revs rout.

Sporting Kansas City 2-1 LA Galaxy    Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Geiger himself had a quiet match, but AR Kermit Quisenberry had to make one of the most important calls of Decision Day.
38th Minute: Kevin Ellis of Sporting KC knocks in the rebound of a Chance Myers to put the heartland side up 1-0. Unfortunately, Ellis was clearly offsides by a good yard and a half when Myers headed the ball. However, Quisenberry doesn't call offsides, and the goal proves to be key in a 2-1 Sporting win that had mammoth implications on the Western Conference playoff picture.

Dallas 2-1 San Jose                                Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Much like Geiger, Villarreal didn't see much controversy himself but had his AR make a huge decision.
67th Minute: Matias Perez Garcia of San Jose gets into an off-ball shoving match with Mauro Diaz, but then decides to make contact with Diaz's head as the shoves continue. AR Peter Manikowski notices this and instructs Villarreal to send Perez Garcia off, a decision which I agree with due to the violent nature of the contact.

Villarreal explains the decision to unhappy San Jose players

Chicago 1-2 New York Red Bulls         Referee: Ricardo Salazar (United States)
Salazar called one penalty in the clinching match for the Supporters Shield for New York.
34th Minute: Chicago's Patrick Nyarko shoves Mike Grella off the ball in the box, which constitutes as a clear penalty in my book. Salazar sees this and correctly points to the spot.

Montreal 2-1 Toronto FC                       Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Columbus 5-0 D.C. United                    Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Portland 4-1 Colorado                            Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Vancouver 3-0 Houston                         Referee: Kevin Stott (United States)
Seattle 3-1 Real Salt Lake                      Referee: Sorin Stoica (United States)
These four officials and their crews both had quiet matches without controversy. Nothing to look at here.

Thanks for reading!

MLS Week 33 Reports: Altidore sees red from the bench

Toronto FC 2-1 New York Red Bulls      Referee: Fotis Bazakos (United States)
Bazakos had an interesting moment in this match when he sent Jozy Altidore off for a rare offense committed from the bench.
34th Minute: Bazakos stops play after receiving word that someone from Toronto's bench has abused 4th Official Daniel Radford from the bench. After conferring with AR CJ Morgante and Radford, he determines the abuser to be Altidore and shows him the red card. Since I don't know what was said, I can't tell you whether I think Bazakos got it right or not, though the lack of complaint from Altidore tells me that he knew the red card was correct.

CJ Morgante identifies Altidore as the offender

FC Dallas 2-0 Vancouver                        Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero (United States)
Rivero called one penalty in this match, but I think he unfortunately got it wrong.
42nd Minute: Tim Parker of Vancouver appears to cleanly win the ball from Michael Barrios in the box with a great challenge, but Rivero points the spot after Barrios goes to ground. To me, there wasn't enough contact to warrant a penalty, though luckily for Rivero it didn't matter since Mauro Diaz missed the kick.

Real Salt Lake 0-1 Portland                     Referee: Juan Guzman (United States)
Guzman called a penalty and showed a red card on one play in this match, but I only thought the red was warranted.
52nd Minute: Lucas Melano of Portland is running through on goal when he is pulled down by RSL's last man back Jamison Olave. Guzman correctly shows Olave a red card for Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity and then goes over to AR Corey Rockwell, who also saw a penalty on the play. Guzman agrees and points to the spot, but it seems evident to me that Melano was outside the box when he was fouled by Olave. Big mistake from both Guzman and Rockwell on this play.

LA Galaxy 2-5 Portland                           Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Kelly whistled for a penalty once during this match, and I think he got it right.
67th Minute: Portland's Fanendo Adi is trying to reach a low cross in the box when he is pushed over from behind by Dan Gargan. Kelly calls a penalty, and I agree since there was clear contact that prevented Adi from getting to the ball.

Orlando 2-1 NYCFC                                Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
San Jose 1-0 Sporting Kansas City          Referee: Kevin Stott (United States)
Toronto FC 0-2 Columbus                       Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
New England 0-1 Montreal                      Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Real Salt Lake 0-1 FC Dallas                   Referee: Jorge Gonzalez (United States)
DC United 4-0 Chicago                            Referee: Sorin Stoica (United States)
New York Red Bulls 4-1 Philadelphia     Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Houston 1-1 Seattle                                   Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)
Chapman, Stott, Penso, Geiger, Gonzalez, Stoica, Elfath, and Jurisevic all had quiet games with not much controversy. Nothing to look at from these eight matches.

Thanks for reading!

Premier League Referee Rankings for October 2015

1. Martin Atkinson (no change)
Atkinson has remained very strong this season, and despite an iffy Merseyside Derby last week, he narrowly gets the top spot based on a string of very strong performances in the early stages of the English Premier League. -- Bob Smith

2. Mark Clattenburg (+1)
Clattenburg hasn't been at his best and would've probably stayed in place if it wasn't for struggles by other officials, especially after a very questionable penalty decision in Norwich-Leicester that helped the Foxes snag an away win. Clattenburg still needs to find his groove, but a lack of serious howlers this season keeps him near the top in our rankings. -- Harrison Johnson

3. Michael Oliver (+1)
Oliver continues to move up our rankings, as he continues to make the right call in big situations, leading to another huge appointment in September for United-Liverpool. Oliver did get a penalty wrong in Bournemouth-Watford last week, but it doesn't change the fact that he has been very good this season. -- Neil Tyler

4. Mike Dean (-2)
Dean started the year at the top of our list, but he has tumbled out of the top 3 after a mess of a performance in Chelsea-Arsenal, specifically failing to send Diego Costa for slapping Laurent Koscielny in the face three times and slapping Gabriel in the face. Couple this with a penalty miss in Villa-United in week 2, and this has not been a good season for Dean. -- Will Cole

5. Anthony Taylor (no change)
Taylor has been stellar in recent weeks after a rocky start, culminating in an appointment to Arsenal-United during Matchday 8. He hasn't had much to deal with in any recent performance, but that's no obstacle to keeping him in the top 5. -- Bob Smith

6. Craig Pawson (no change)
Much like Anthony Taylor, Pawson had a rocky start with some controversy in Matchday 2 but has seen a string of quieter performances, leading to a solid start to the campaign. Look for Pawson to potentially get a big match in the upcoming weeks. -- Harrison Johnson

7. Jonathan Moss (+3)
Moss is generally considered a middle of the road referee who can be inconsistent, but he has looked really strong this season. Every big decision he has made has been right so far, and he has catapulted up our list following a run of well-managed matches. -- Neil Tyler

8. Lee Probert (-1)
Probert is a strong referee in our opinion, but his health remains a concern after an aggravation of a knee injury that kept him out for much of last season has sidelined him for the first two months of the season. We believe Probert is one of the best referees, but his unavailability drops him another spot. --Will Cole

9. Phil Dowd (-1)
Dowd is dealing with historic injury issues that have kept him out since February. Much like Lee Probert, we feel that Dowd is one of England's best referees but can't avoid dropping in the rankings due to his absence. -- Bob Smith

10. Andre Marriner (-1)
Marriner just can't find his groove this season. Every match he's officiated has been inconsistent, including some questionable yellows in Newcastle-Arsenal on Matchday 4. He's been good in the past, but he has no rhythm right now, which drops his ranking in our list. -- Harrison Johnson

11. Lee Mason (no change)
Mason hasn't seen many matches this year, but aside from a big mistake in Palace-Arsenal, he has been his usual decent self. He still really struggles with consistency, which was evident in the aforementioned Palace-Arsenal match, and that keeps him just out of the top 10 -- Neil Tyler

12. Mike Jones (+1)
Jones has done really well so far this year after having serious issues with making unfairly harsh calls last year. He even got appointed to Tottenham-Everton, and some good performances overall have moved him up to 12th in the rankings. -- Will Cole

13. Neil Swarbrick (-1)
Swarbrick hasn't been poor by any standard this season, but he has hardly officiated any Premier League matches this season, which makes him more vulnerable to getting passed in our list by well performing officials like Jones. -- Bob Smith

14. Robert Madley (+1)
Madley has seen some big appointments this season and had done well up until he struggled in Chelsea-Southampton, with 3 potential penalties missed. Had that not happened, Madley might have moved up even higher on our list. -- Harrison Johnson

15. Roger East (-1)
East finally officiated his first game back from a long-term illness that kept him out for the first 6 weeks of the season. He was good in his first match back, but hasn't done enough yet to avoid falling behind Madley. -- Neil Tyler

16. Kevin Friend (no change)
Friend hasn't really made any big mistakes since his high-profile Liverpool-West Ham debacle, but his tendency to make huge mistakes is still holding him back from moving towards the top of our list. If he can continue to avoid trouble, he could conceivably move up a spot. -- Will Cole

17. Graham Scott (no change)
Scott still hasn't officiated his first BPL match as a Select Group Referee after an injury has kept him out of action until this upcoming week, when he will take charge of Burnley-Bolton in the Championship. If all goes well there, Scott could be the referee in his first BPL match of the season next weekend.

BONUS SECTION
Promotion Rankings
1. Keith Stroud
2. Stuart Attwell
3. Paul Tierney
4. Simon Hooper

Felix Brych is our September Referee of the Month

Brych

German UEFA Elite referee Felix Brych was named by our writers as the referee of the month for September after some good domestic work as well as a very good performance in Porto-Kyiv during Matchday 1 of the UCL. Congratulations to Brych on his strong work recently, and we wish him and every referee the best of luck this October.