Why Premier League resumption will be sweet music for Leeds referee Jon Moss

A leading Premier League referee, Moss is accustomed to his on-pitch decisions being scrutinised – and quite often vilified – by a live audience in the tens of thousands. But all that is going to change for a fair while.

Moss, who owns a record shop in Headingley, is back in ‘training’ and stepping up preparations ahead of football’s return in the ‘new normal’ played out in deserted stadiums, as opposed to seething cauldrons of something resembling hate.

It will be a strange sensation and will take some getting accustomed to.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “It is the new normal we have to get used to. I have done a few games behind closed doors before in terms of games in Europe where clubs who have fans suspended.

“One of the games was at POAK in Greece and we also did one at Legia Warsaw.

“It will be a completely different atmosphere for all the players and referees who are used to the crowds being there and cheering – and the other things they shout from time to time.

“If we want to finish the season off, it is something we are going to have to get used to. The whole of society has changed and we are going to have make changes from what we did in the past.

“But nothing beats the Premier League in terms of watching. That is our bread and butter.”

Just as players are eager to get back to the day job after an extended hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so Moss and his colleagues in the refereeing fraternity are desperate to return to what they know.

Leeds-based Moss, 49, on the books of Sunderland as a youth and who later won a footballing scholarship to Connecticut State University, was due to take charge of the first match that was cancelled due to coronavirus fears – Manchester City’s home encounter with Arsenal on March 11.

It is a piece of notoriety he could do without.

Moss added: “That was the first game we lost – then we lost the ones that coming weekend. I suppose my claim to fame is that I was due to take charge of the first game called off for coronavirus. It was literally in the morning we found out.

“Refereeing is similar to playing in that we enjoy the 90 minutes at the weekend and during the week and the reason why we referee is for the football. There’s only so many games you can watch on Sky Sports.

“It has been nice to have the rest, but we all want to get back to it when it is safe to do so as we want to finish off the season. We are at that point in the season where it gets exciting – whether it be in the Championship in Leeds trying to get promoted or relegation issues or things like that. We are part of that process.

“I think no-one wants to see the season finished really. Especially if you are a Leeds fan at the moment, it’s a nervous time, isn’t it?”

Moss’s refereeing career may have been temporarily placed on hold but online orders to purchase records from his shop –the Vinyl Whistle – have at least helped him keep busy.

It has provided him with a distraction, but now his focus is firmly upon returning to his duties in the middle.

The game may well be changed – with talk of five substitutions allowed per side in each game, shorter halves and potential cautions for unhygienic behaviour doing the rounds as footballers prepare to alter their mannerisms on the pitch for health and safety reasons.

But it is better than no football.

Moss continued: “That is out of our hands and we will be guided what the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) decide. I know there will be some testing of players and referees and I think that is in the blueprint put forward.

“There will have to be stringent safety processes put in place.

“All we can do is leave that to those people who get paid the money to sort that kind of thing out. If the government thinks it is safe to recommence football, then that is what will happen.

“All we can do is – if they do give us the nod – make sure we are ready to bring the Premier League back into line and finish off the season.

“We’ve had a bit of down time, but obviously have to keep fit and I keep training every day within the restrictions that have been applied. As a referee, I am keeping up to date with what is happening and looking at clips. We’ve got to be ready and switched on for when football restarts.

“Basically, we could go into the next one (season) with a short gap in between, with the way the calendar is going.

“We had to temper down the training for a couple of weeks and a ‘pre-season’ started on Monday.

“There is a possibility of the season starting again in June, so we have got to hit the ground running.

“Like clubs, we are directed by sports scientists and they send us programmes to follow. We wear heart-rate monitors whenever we train and that data is downloaded straightaway to sports scientists who are getting feedback.

“The only thing that is missing for us is the fortnightly get-togethers at St George’s Park.

“It will be important to get back to some normality if we can and it is safe to do so.

“Football is one of those avenues where, even though it is a little bit insignificant compared to what some people are doing in their day-to-day lives, it does give a bit of normality and release for people to break down those stress barriers after being cooped up for a number of weeks.”

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