A referee's association has rubbished claims that a former match official was told to lie about an incident which took place during a game.
Former referee Mark Halsey took to Twitter yesterday to state that he had been told to overlook an incident from a game he had officiated in. His comments came in the wake of Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero receiving a retrospective three-match ban for his challenge on West Ham's Winston Reid.
Halsey has previously highlighted issues of this nature in his autobiography, but pointed out that he believes the fault lies with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) rather than the FA.
@mackemcafu2 @richardajkeys Paul I have been in that situation when I have seen an incident and been told to say I haven't seen it
— Mark Halsey (@RefereeHalsey) September 2, 2016
However, his claims have been since denied by PGMOL. In an official statement, they wrote:
"There is no pressure to include or omit anything. Match officials submit their reports, including critical incidents, directly to the FA. Match officials ensure that their reports are a full and accurate description of the incident."
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