The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have confirmed that three Premier League officials have retired from officiating after the 2025/26 season. Referee Darren Bond and assistant referees Natalie Aspinall and Marc Perry have stepped down from their roles.
Retirements Across Divisions
In addition to the Premier League retirements, referee Jeremy Simpson and assistant referee Mark Russell have retired from Championship duties, while referee Cristiana Hattersley has stepped down from Women's Super League officiating. The PGMOL announced the departures on their official X account on Thursday, stating: "We thank each of them for their years of dedication, professionalism and commitment to the game."
Bond, who made his Premier League debut on January 3, 2023, during Fulham's 1-0 win at Leicester City, had not officiated a top-flight match since Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Southampton on the final day of the 2024/25 campaign. The 48-year-old is a known Wigan Athletic fan, which prevented him from refereeing their matches.
World Cup Focus
Attention now shifts to the ongoing World Cup, where high-profile English referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor are representing the country. Oliver is set to return to action after recovering from an injury that forced him to miss his first scheduled match. He will officiate the Group F clash between the Netherlands and Sweden on Saturday at Houston Stadium in Texas, assisted by Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring.
Oliver, an international referee since 2012 and part of UEFA's elite group since 2018, previously refereed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including the quarter-final between Croatia and Brazil.
