THE standard of refereeing at the moment is the worst I can remember since the Premier League era began.

I voiced my concerns on the state of top-flight officials on these pages back in October. And it has gone backwards since then!

7 Mark Halsey has slated the performance of referee's this season Credit: Action Images

7 Mike Dean had a shocker at the London Stadium Credit: Getty Images

The spotlight is on Mike Dean at the moment after he got it totally wrong in the West Ham and Manchester United game.

But the focus should be on referees' chief Mike Riley.

I’m of the belief you don’t become a bad referee overnight. It’s about confidence and leadership and the select group refs are being let down badly.

One big reason for this is Riley has created a structure where accountability is non-existent.

In fact, we should nickname Riley "Lord Lucan" because you never see or hear from him. I’m amazed by the wall of silence because someone has to be accountable.

Secondly, he sacked four coaches when he took over and has surrounded himself with yes men. The current coaching system is just not good enough.

7 West Ham were furious with his display Credit: Reuters

7 Sofiane Feghouli was sent off for this tackle Credit: Getty Images

In my day, there would always be a match assessor from the PGMOL, match delegate from the Premier League on behalf of the clubs and one of the coaches (they used to be five but now there’s only one in Eddie Wolstenholme) on a regular basis at a game.

The match assessor would give you a pep talk before the game, come down at half-time if you needed a kick up the backside and talk to you after the game on various aspects of your performance.

Now it’s only the delegate who will speak to you after the game on three aspects: key match decisions, man-management and fitness.

This is because Riley brought in the evaluation system in 2011. It’s a ticking boxes exercise. Referees can wait a number of days before they get closure of their performance.

They may have already officiated another game by then. There is little interaction and referees are left in the dark.

UEFA have got it right and you get a detailed assessment from the observer on the night. That’s the best way to learn.

7 The display of referee's has been questioned by many this season Credit: Getty Images

7 Halsey believes refs should retire at 50 Credit: Getty Images

It is clear to see the referees are not having the current system and you can see why there is so much inconsistency.

In the select group, we have too many egos among the referees and the management team are not strong enough to cope with it. We have people within the management set-up that have never refereed at the top level, some not even been involved in refereeing!

Adam Watt, the Select Group manager, has only refereed at non-league level, Jonathan Simmonite, the training and development manager, has never been a referee and Neil Cottrill, the head of coaching for Select Group One, has a background in Great Britain Badminton.

How are these guys going to improve refereeing standards? They have never been in that environment.

There’s no coaching going on, no man-management, no leadership or direction and it’s evident to me that the referees are policing themselves.

The referees haven’t got the trust in the management system which is in place.

7 Phil Jones made a meal out of the tackle on him Credit: PA:Press Association

When a manager fails to get the best out of his players he gets the sack - that should be the same for referees.

Back in October 2003, Phillip Don lost the trust of his big-hitting refs like Graham Poll, Graham Barber and Paul Durkin.

The situation wasn’t as bad as now but Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore removed him from his position and brought in Keith Hackett.

We have to admit the standard of refereeing in the last six years has been poor.

So how do we get better? The stakeholders - the clubs - and the fans can’t be happy by what has been going on.

We have to be constructive in a bid to improve and that includes Mike Dean.

I don’t think it was entirely Dean’s fault at the London Stadium, but his performance was not the referee I know. He’s has had a poor couple of weeks and he’ll be the first to admit that.

In my opinion, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen Mike referee a football game. He simply went to pieces.

He is a very confident guy and normally he doesn’t dwell on making a mistake. He parks it and moves on.

He may come across as a showman with some of his antics on the pitch, but he’s a bloke who likes a laugh and a joke. That’s the way he is. But you can’t take away he’s been an excellent referee over the years.

People have also questioned the age of referee’s. UEFA has a retirement age of 45. But referees in the Premier League can go on for as long as they pass the required fitness tests. For me they should retire at 50.