Mark Halsey dropped a bombshell yesterday when he revealed on twitter that he had come under pressure when he was a referee by his bosses to lie about what incidents he had seen.
According to the Sun, we now know which incident he was asked to lie about.
Back in 2011, Halsey was in charge of Blackburn against Stoke when Stephen N'Zonzi appeared to elbow Ryan Shawcross in the face. Halsey now says he saw the incident and was happy he made the right decision, but that his bosses wanted him to say he hadn't so that they could charge N'Zonzi and ban him for three games.
I saw the incident between Steven Nzonzi and Ryan Shawcross and was happy it was not a red card.
I was told to expect a call from the FA compliance department, which I duly got.
When I got the call I said I was still happy — but they said my bosses weren’t happy. I was under pressure to say I hadn’t seen it.
I was furious but no matter what industry you are in, you do what your bosses say.
So he was charged and got three matches.
Halsey told the Sun that he has been told by other referees that they have felt the same pressure from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). The PGMOL have denied Halsey's claims, and the Premier League are not expected to launch an investigation.
See Also: Former Ref Claims He Was Told To Lie About On-Field Incidents
Photo Credit Sky Sports
