The FA's Head of Senior Referee Development Neale Barry has today underlined the huge amount of work done by The FA to recruit and retain referees:

"The FA, and Brian Barwick personally, are absolutely committed to supporting referees at all levels of the game.

"In fact, there has actually never been a better time to get into refereeing. There are greater opportunities to get involved than ever before, with extensive training, development and support structures in place. There is a network of referee coaches and mentors to help the most inexperienced referees. We are also very active in trying to get more young people, women and minority groups involved."

Barry, himself a Premiership referee for eight years, said: "The challenge we face is one of retention rather than recruitment. We train around 7,000 new referees every season but lose around the same number. In total we are around 8,000 referees short.

"Improving respect for referees is something that we are working to address, and something Brian Barwick feels very strongly about. Referees always take decisions objectively and honestly and we should always remember that we are all in the game together, referees, players and managers alike.

"We should also remember that referees apply the laws of the game on the field of play but don't get involved in the disicplinary process. Neither does Brian Barwick. It is a completely independent procedure."