Mike Riley has responded to recent criticism aimed at referees by saying they are at the highest level he has ever seen.

Match officials have been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent months, since former high-profile officiators Graham Poll and Keith Hackett branded standards as the 'worst' they had ever witnessed.

Contrary to those claims, The Times reported that former Premier League referee Riley said he believed levels have actually continued to improve over the last five years.

Referee Mike Riley (fourth right) hit back at criticism by saying the standard of refereeing is improving

Cesc Fabregas (right) was booked for diving in the box by referee Anthony Taylor despite being fouled

'You always look back and think "wasn't life good then",' Riley said.

'But my view is that every generation is improving on the last. Go back over the last five years, whether we judge the data from evaluation [by former referees] or the Premier League delegates, it all suggests year on year the group have improved by on-field standards.'

GRAHAM POLL 'Refereeing is at the worst level I can ever remember - if Mike Riley was in charge of a team he would be sacked' Advertisement

Following some questionable decisions over the festive period, Riley, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) - who are responsible for the officiating of top-flight games - also highlighted the pressure of expectation heaped upon referees and assistants in this day and age.

'We also know it gets more demanding, so we have to keep improving. Expectations were completely different before. There wasn't the camera coverage or scrutiny. People forgave players more mistakes than now and forgave referees more mistakes.'

Martin Atkinson was correct in awarding Chelsea a penalty in their Capital One Cup clash at Liverpool

Craig Pawson failed to spot Papiss Cisse's (second left) elbow on Everton's Seamus Coleman (centre)