Robert Jones (referee)

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Robert Jones is an English football referee. He has refereed in the English Football League since 2016 and the Premier League since 2019. He was the referee for the 2016 National League play-off final, the 2018 EFL League One play-off final and the 2020 EFL League One play-off final.

Contents

Biography

Early career

Jones began refereeing at age 14, as his uncle had been a referee. [1] He is a member of the Cheshire Football Association and the Wirral Referees' Association. [2] As the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is part of Merseyside, Jones is not permitted to referee matches involving Liverpool or Everton. [3]

Jones spent two seasons refereeing in the fifth-tier National League. On 15 May 2016, he officiated in the 2016 National League play-off final between Grimsby Town and Forest Green Rovers. [4]

From 2016–17, Jones officiated in the English Football League. He was selected for the 2018 EFL League One play-off final, between Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town. The latter club's manager, Paul Hurst, criticised the selection as Jones had sent off Shrewsbury captain Abu Ogogo in an earlier match between the two teams. [5]

Premier League

Jones made his Premier League debut on 21 December 2019 in a game between Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United. [6] He awarded United's John Egan an early goal that was disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR) in a 1–0 Sheffield United win. [7] He was the fourth official in 15 other top-flight fixtures that season and was promoted to Select Group 1 at its conclusion. [8] He also officiated in the 2020 EFL League One play-off final between Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers. [9]

On 27 December 2020, in his third top-flight game of the season and fourth overall, Jones officiated in Leeds United's 1–0 home win over Burnley. He awarded a penalty kick from which Patrick Bamford scored the only goal after five minutes, though goalkeeper Nick Pope appeared to have touched the ball while tackling Bamford. He disallowed a potential equaliser from Ashley Barnes due to a foul by Ben Mee on Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, which was regarded by Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe as in fact a foul by Meslier. Keith Hackett, former chief of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Jones made two errors that he should not have with his experience, and that he was not sprinting enough to keep a view on Leeds, a team who played a fast style of football. [10]

Jones was on VAR duty on 26 August 2023 as Nottingham Forest lost 3–2 away to Manchester United after leading 2–0 in the fourth minute. He supported referee Stuart Attwell in two controversial calls against Forest: the dismissal of Joe Worrall for a foul on Bruno Fernandes as the last man between Fernandes and the goal, even though Willy Boly appeared be in that position, and the match-winning late penalty scored by Fernandes after Danilo was judged to have fouled Marcus Rashford. Forest manager Steve Cooper said he was surprised by how quickly the decisions were reached, and the club launched a formal complaint against PGMOL. [11] Despite the complaint, he was put in charge of Forest's match against Burnley on 18 September and was involved in another VAR controversy, this time in Forest's favour; he disallowed a potential winner for Burnley in a 1–1 draw as VAR official Darren England believed Sander Berge had committed handball; no Forest player had appealed the goal. [12]

In the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur on 24 September 2023, Jones awarded Arsenal a penalty when a close-range shot from Ben White struck the hand of Cristian Romero. He had initially given no penalty, but reversed his decision upon checking the VAR monitor. [13] Television pundit and former Tottenham player Jermaine Jenas wrote on Twitter that Jones was a "complete shithouse" and that all referees were ruining football, for which he apologised when challenged by a refereeing charity. [14]

On 23 December 2023, Jones refereed Forest's 3–2 home loss to AFC Bournemouth. He sent off Boly in the first half-hour for a second yellow card when the defender had won the ball fairly from Adam Smith. The call was described by Sky Sports's live commentary as "one of the worst decisions this season". [15] The decision could not go to VAR review as it concerned a second yellow card, not a straight red. [16] Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo also criticised Jones for not awarding his club a penalty for handball after a VAR review: "I have seen it many times and I cannot understand it. I cannot understand it. It was bad". [17] Forest wrote to Howard Webb, chief of PGMOL, requesting that Jones be suspended from their matches. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Clattenburg</span> English football referee (born 1975)

Mark Clattenburg is an English former professional football referee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Dean (referee)</span> English football referee

Mike Dean is an English former professional football referee and currently a video assistant referee (VAR) primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Heswall, Wirral, in North West England, and is a member of the Cheshire County Football Association.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) is the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football.

Lee Mason is a retired referee from Bolton, Greater Manchester. From 2006 until 2021, Mason was on the list of Select Group Referees who officiated in the Premier League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Swarbrick</span> English football referee

Neil Swarbrick is an English retired football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League having been promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Wood (footballer, born 1991)</span> New Zealand footballer (born 1991)

Christopher Grant Wood is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and captains the New Zealand national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Moss (referee)</span> English football referee

Jonathan Moss is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League having been promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2011. After his retirement, Moss became Select Group 1 Manager however left the role in March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Madley</span> English football referee

Robert Madley is an English professional football referee who was on the list of Select Group Referees who officiate primarily in the Premier League between 2013 and 2018. He officiated in the Football League as a referee from 2010 and was one of the youngest officials to progress to the top-flight of English football.

John Brooks is an English professional football referee, who primarily officiates in the Premier League after being promoted in June 2021. Prior to this, Brooks had been a Select Group 2 referee since 2018, and prior to this, he had been a Premier League assistant referee.

Paul Tierney is a football referee from Wigan, Greater Manchester, who referees in the Premier League. He first officiated in the Premier League on 30 August 2014. He was promoted to the FIFA list of referees in 2018, but was removed again in 2022. Tierney is registered with the Lancashire Football Association.

Graham David Scott is an English professional football referee who officiates in the Premier League.

The 2018–19 EFL Cup was the 59th season of the EFL Cup. Also known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, the competition was open to all 92 clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League. The first round was played on 14 August 2018, ten days after the start of the Football League season. Manchester City successfully defended their title, their first step in becoming the first English team to complete a domestic treble for the football season, as they later won the 2018–19 Premier League and the 2018–19 FA Cup. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 24 February 2019.

Simon Hooper is an English football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. His county FA is the Wiltshire Football Association. He was promoted to the Select Group in 2018.

Tim Robinson is an English football referee. He was promoted to Select Group 1 for the 2023–24 season.

Darren England is a Premier League football referee, who was promoted in August 2020. In December 2021, the PGMOL announced that England had been added to the 2022 FIFA List of International Match Officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Welch</span> English football referee

Rebecca Welch is an English former professional football referee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Arsenal F.C. season</span> 136th season in existence of Arsenal F.C.

The 2021–22 season was Arsenal Football Club's 30th season in the Premier League, their 96th consecutive season in the top flight of English football and 105th season in the top flight overall. It began on 1 July 2021 and concluded on 30 June 2022, with competitive matches played between August and May. In addition to the domestic league, Arsenal also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, but they did not participate in any European competition for the first time since 1995–96, owing to an eighth-place finish the previous season.

The 2021–22 EFL Cup was the 62nd season of the EFL Cup. The competition was open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 EFL Championship play-off final</span> English association football match

The 2022 EFL Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2022 at Wembley Stadium, London, England, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2021–22 EFL Championship, Fulham and Bournemouth, gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth in the table took part in the 2022 English Football League play-offs. Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest competed for the final place in the 2022–23 Premier League season.

Michael Salisbury is an English professional football referee and former teacher who belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and officiates in the Premier League.

References

  1. "Nicholls Lecture Series - Rob Jones". Birkenhead School. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. Mattick, Nathan (19 December 2019). "Jones and Robinson to make Premier League debuts". The Referees' Association. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  3. Stokes, Jake (24 April 2024). "Which Premier League referees are not allowed to officiate Liverpool and Everton games?". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  4. "Rotherham v Pompey: who's the referee?". The News (Portsmouth) . 20 January 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. Cox, Lewis (25 May 2018). "Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst bemused by decision to appoint Robert Jones as referee for Wembley final". Shropshire Star . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. "Cheshire FA referee to make Premier League debut". Cheshire FA. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. "Sheffield United march on with win over Brighton". The Bolton News . PA Media. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  8. James, Alex; Hodgson, George (27 December 2020). "Who is referee Rob Jones? Leeds vs Burnley just his third Premier League game". Lancs Live. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. "Play-off final referee has had two big Oxford United games this season". Oxford Mail . 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. Marshall-Bailey, Tom (29 December 2020). "Former referee chief slams Robert Jones errors as Leeds United vs Burnley war of words continues". Lancs Live. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  11. Stone, Simon (28 August 2023). "Nottingham Forest: Club lodge complaint over officials in Manchester United game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  12. Scrafton, Matt (19 September 2023). "Opinion: VAR robs Burnley of a first league win against Nottingham Forest & continues to sap the game's soul". Burnley Express . Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  13. Power, Lee (24 September 2023). "Tottenham boss bemused by handball rule after derby draw". Islington Gazette . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  14. Braidwood, Jamie (25 September 2023). "Jermaine Jenas accused of hypocrisy after 'disgraceful' criticism of Arsenal vs Tottenham referee". The Independent . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  15. "'One of the worst decisions this season!' Willy Boly's controversial red card". Sky Sports. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  16. Vurley, Callum (23 December 2023). "Bizarre reason VAR could not intervene as Nottingham Forest fume at 'shocking' Willy Boly red card". Talksport . Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  17. Clapson, Sarah (24 December 2023). "What Nuno Espirito Santo said on Nottingham Forest defeat, referee Rob Jones and Willy Boly red card". Nottingham Post . Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  18. Rumsby, Ben; Percy, John (25 December 2023). "Nottingham Forest demand ref Rob Jones is banned from their matches after Willy Boly farce". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 December 2023.