‘Stop worrying what other people think’ – Howard Webb meeting sparks rant from ex-Liverpool star Danny Murphy

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has criticized PGMOL chief Howard Webb for choosing to explain refereeing decisions to supporters.

It comes after Webb, who oversees Premier League and EFL officials, met with the Everton Fans Forum to discuss controversial decisions which they said had gone against the club.

The meeting, a Zoom call with fans forum chairman Barry Williams in January, saw Webb dissect a record of questionable refereeing calls, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s red card against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.

Discussing the decision after a recent Times article called on Webb to focus on ensuring better PR umpiring, Murphy agreed, urging him to stick to his job.

Joining Sam Matterface and Martin O’Neill on talkSPORT, the former Liverpool midfielder told the former top referee: “Stop worrying about what people think and get the job done.”

Murphy also took aim at the PGMOL boss’s Match Officials: Mic’d Up TV series on Sky Sports with former England striker Michael Owen, which details the most recent refereeing decisions.

He continued: “And if that means behind closed doors, and without having to face every week, coming to our shows and doing your own shows.

“Go make sure the referees do their job better, and then everything else will be easier.”

Murphy also warned that Webb’s actions could set a precedent. He added: “I think he’s opening a can of worms by doing this.

“I don’t think he needs to do it for him, he has enough things to do, enough things to sort out.

2

“He will then find himself very, very busy. Because if other people find out about it, there’s a domino effect.

“And then you’ll have the Forest fans and then the Wolves fans saying ‘Why don’t we have a meeting with Howard? Because we’ve made some horrible decisions and we need them to explain it to us’.”

There have been several high-profile refereeing errors during this Premier League season, including Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham which was wrongly ruled out for offside in a huge error between the VAR room and the referee on the field.

Webb was later forced to apologize to the Reds for the call on behalf of PGMOL after losing the match, admitting that a “significant human error” had taken place.

Murphy argued: “I I think his job is first and foremost to improve the referees.

“I understand that he wants the perception of the referees to be better, and I know that he works very hard to try to achieve that. I know Howard is a good guy.”

He later added: “The reality is that the perception of referees improves and improves through their performance. There’s really nothing else.

“So if his priority is to have a better perception of the referees, then what you need to do is improve their performance.”