Former Premier League referee banned for five months over abusive comments

A former Premier League referee has been banned from all football-related activity for five months after telling a black assistant referee that he couldn’t see him in the dark.

Rodger Gifford was working as a referee observer for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited when he made the remarks after the second-round FA Cup tie between Newport County and Barnet on 2 December 2023.

According to several witnesses, Gifford made jokes about his colleague’s skin colour during a post-match debrief. One account, from the match referee, described Gifford talking about the darkness in parts of the stadium and saying: “It was lucky that you were not over there as assistant referee as we wouldn’t have been able to see you. If you smiled though, we would be able to see your teeth.”

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The details were contained in written reasons published by the independent regulatory commission which oversaw the case on behalf of the Football Association. Gifford denied the charges and argued that he “meant the comments without any malice”. This attempt at mitigation was rejected by the commission, which wrote in its decision that “on any objective assessment, the comments made by Mr Gifford were abusive and insulting.” The commission also noted that Gifford “appeared oblivious” to the embarrassment he had caused the assistant referee.

Gifford’s punishment, which also includes a £400 fine, exceeds the customary “sanctions range” of a ban of between six and 12 matches. This was in part because Gifford was revealed to have made a second “aggravated” breach of FA rules on improper behaviour a year previously, an offence for which he incurred an eight-week ban and a fine of £200.

The PGMOL distanced itself from Gifford and said it took swift action after the discriminatory comment was revealed. Gifford, who acted for PGMOL on a freelance basis, has not worked as an observer since the Newport tie.