Robert Jones is an English football referee. He has refereed in the English Football League since 2016 and the Premier League since 2019.

Biography

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.[1]

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.[2]

Jones made his Premier League debut on 21 December 2019 in a game between Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United.[3] 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.[4] He was the fourth official in 15 other top-flight fixtures that season and was promoted to Select Group 1 at its conclusion.[5] He also officiated in the 2020 EFL League One play-off final between Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers.[6]

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 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.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Rotherham v Pompey: who's the referee?". The News (Portsmouth). 20 January 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Cheshire FA referee to make Premier League debut". Cheshire FA. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Sheffield United march on with win over Brighton". The Bolton News. PA Media. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "Play-off final referee has had two big Oxford United games this season". Oxford Mail. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Power, Lee (24 September 2023). "Tottenham boss bemused by handball rule after derby draw". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Braidwood, Jamie (25 September 2023). "Jermaine Jenas accused of hypocrisy after 'disgraceful' criticism of Arsenal vs Tottenham referee". The Independent. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.