Howard Webb has been promoted to a new role as performance director for England 's professional referees and will be the man who selects officials for Premier League matches . Webb , 43 , who retired as a referee last year after a career which included taking charge of the 2010 World Cup final , has been appointed performance director for the Select Group of referees - the 17 full-time professional officials . He takes over from 69-year-old Keren Barratt , who had been due to retire but is moving into a different role . Former referee Howard Webb will select referees for Premier League games in his new position . The highlight of Webb 's referee career came when taking charge of the 2010 World Cup final . Webb , who had been working as technical director for Professional Game Match Officials Limited ( PGMOL ) since retiring as a referee , will now take responsibility for managing the Select Group . PGMOL will also appoint an additional referee coach to work directly with Webb . Webb will continue to report to PGMOL general manager Mike Riley , who said : 'Howard 's role as technical director this season has enabled him to obtain an excellent understanding of the organisation , our officials and the strong work of our support team . 'What has also become clear is that Howard has a natural flair for coaching and his extensive experience of the Premier League means he 's expertly placed to lead and further develop the high standards of the Select Group . ' Former referee and PGMOL general manager Mike Riley ( centre ) values Howard 's 'natural flair for coaching and experience of the Premier League '
Former referee Howard Webb has been promoted to performance director . 2010 World Cup final official will select referees for The Select Group games . Premier League includes 17 full-time professional officials .