MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 1, 2023: Liverpool's captain Jordan Henderson (L) and Diogo Jota react as referee Simon Hooper refuses to issue a yellow card for a blatant foul during the FA Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC at the City of Manchester Stadium. Man City won 4-1. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Premier League confirm 2 new referees – with no Liverpool experience

Liverpool could be refereed by two new officials in next season’s Premier League, with the pair promoted never in charge of a Reds game before.

Ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, the PGMOL have promoted two officials to their Select Group 1, meaning they will be considered as regular referees in the top flight.

They are West Sussex native Tim Robinson and Lancashire’s Darren Bond, who both have limited experience of leading Premier League games in the past.

Robinson has refereed three top-flight games before – including two last season – while Bond has officiated four in the past, all of which came in the campaign just gone.

None of those games involved Liverpool, with the extent of their combined experience with Reds fixtures being for Robinson, as fourth official.

The 0-0 draw at Southampton in 2016 and the 3-0 defeat at Brighton earlier this year saw Robinson as fourth official.

Their promotions come amid major changes in the refereeing setup for the Premier League of late, including the retirement of Andre Marriner this summer.

Ex-referee Neil Swarbrick has also stepped down from his position as VAR manager, as did Lee Mason from his role as dedicated VAR in February.

PGMOL, the referees’ group, is now led by Howard Webb, who has sought more transparency between officials and clubs, as well as fans.

In May, Webb was in the Sky Sports studio to explain a series of – albeit less contentious – VAR decisions from earlier in the season.

The 51-year-old confirmed plans for further clarification through VAR audio in the future, though he stressed that “we can’t play it live.”

Either way, that has not solved the controversy, with Liverpool themselves writing to PGMOL to ask for explanations for two baffling decisions in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

Jurgen Klopp was watching from the stands as Cody Gakpo received studs to the chest and a foul in the box on Jordan Henderson was overlooked, the manager having received a ban for comments made about referee Paul Tierney.

PGMOL dismissed both complaints, insisting their officials made the right calls.