Mike Riley is to become the new Premier League referees chief, it has been announced. Riley will succeed Keith Hackett as the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) when Hackett retires in January, reports The Guardian.

Before he retires, Hackett will spend six months handing over the reins to the 44-year-old Riley, who has been a referee for 20 years, including 13 years for the Premier League and was selected by Uefa to officiate at Euro 2004.

"Mike brings a wealth of top-class refereeing experience to the role in addition to his business experience, in both the public and private sectors, which will stand him in good stead," said Peter Heard, the chairman of the PGMO. "We are very confident that he will continue to move the PGMO forward and successfully manage and develop professional match officials at this level.

I would like to pay tribute to the progress the PGMO has made under the leadership of Keith Hackett, who has overseen the professionalization of top-flight referees in this country and raised the standards of all aspects of officiating - from training and development to match performance."