Premiership: Refs ordered to sleep alone before games

Premier League soccer referees who stay in hotels before matches have been ordered to sleep alone.

Officials from their new professional body say it will prevent refs being "distracted" in the run-up to games.

Referees have been allowed to take wives or girlfriends with them, if their duty requires an overnight hotel stay.

Professional Game Match Officials Board manager Philip Don, who is in charge of the 24 leading refs, said it is a price of being among the selected referees and receiving an annual retainer of £33,000 plus match fees of around £500 per game.

The sleeping-alone edict will only apply to hotel stays.

Mr Don rejected suggestions the ban was aimed at improving refs' fitness on match days.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "For matches where referees stay over, we will not be encouraging them to take partners and wives with them on a Friday night. We are paying them quite a lot of money now.

"Just as players wouldn't dream of taking their wives away on a Friday night before a match, we're looking at it the same way, so that there are very few distractions and they can focus their mind on what they have to do the following day."

Mr Don said the ban on wives would also help refs bond with their assistant officials, who often stay at the same hotels.

He said: "Quite often the assistants and fourth officials will be staying over on the Friday night and you might have one with a partner and the others on their own. We are trying to get that team to gel together. Obviously, if there's a partner there then they don't get on as well."