Howard Webb, England's chief refereeing officer, has pledged to keep expanding the pool of match officials from under-represented communities, defending the approach against a wider backlash against diversity initiatives. Speaking at a conference held by Bamref, an advocacy group for Black, Asian and mixed-heritage officials, Webb insisted the drive is "born out of quality" and would raise standards by widening competition, rather than being a matter of tokenism, arguing that officials who are not good enough are quickly found out at the top level.

The comments follow a restructuring by the Professional Referees' Body (formerly Professional Game Match Officials), which in June merged Select Group 1, 2 and its supplementary list into a single Professional Referee Group covering the Premier League and Championship from next season. Only three Black referees have ever taken charge of a Premier League match, with Farai Hallam the latest after Uriah Rennie and Sam Allison; Pro Ref's chief operating officer, Danielle Every, noted there was zero Black representation among Premier League officials as recently as 2022. The stance contrasts with pressure elsewhere, including Reform UK's Suella Braverman urging the FA to scrap its ethnic diversity coaching target, and a US legal challenge to the NFL's Rooney Rule.