As Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) continues to recognise talented and high-performing match officials, it has announced that six referees will join a newly created supplementary list for the Select Group 1, serving both the Premier League and EFL.
Lewis Smith, Farai Hallam, Adam Herczeg, Tom Kirk, Ruebyn Ricardo and Ben Toner will be on the list for 2025/26.
Smith is no stranger to the Premier League and has refereed nine top-flight matches since joining PGMO’s Development Group.
Also coming through the same programme, Hallam and Ricardo officiated a number of times in the Championship last season, as did Kirk, who has continued his progress through the traditional pathway.
Herczeg and Toner have also featured in the second tier of English football, earning their promotion on the back of strong seasons in the EFL.
Meanwhile, Blake Antrobus will also be stepping up to the assistant referees' list for the Premier League, following a successful 2024/25 season which culminated in him running the line at the EFL League One playoff final at Wembley.
Lewis Smith
Smith began refereeing in 2009 and when he joined the Development Group, he was just starting to oversee matches in the fifth professional tier of the English game.
The 31-year-old took charge of his first Premier League match in February 2024, Fulham v Aston Villa, and has gone on to officiate another eight games in the competition.
Farai Hallam
Before becoming a referee, Hallam spent four years playing professional football in England and in Spain. Hallam wanted to stay in the game after he was released by Stevenage in 2012, and within two years he had started refereeing.
Hallam made his EFL debut in 2023 before going on to take charge of his first Championship match in November 2024, Norwich City v Bristol City.
He is a PGMO Development Group official, with responsibilities including helping to raise the profile of refereeing.
Adam Herczeg
PGMO Development Group official Herczeg has been refereeing since the age of 15 and made his Premier League debut in May 2025 as the fourth official for Manchester United's home match against West Ham United.
Now 31, Herczeg has overseen a number of Championship games since joining the Development Group and has been in charge of matches across the EFL since 2022/23.
Tom Kirk
Kirk has been refereeing for 16 years, having progressed through the traditional pathway since he started officiating when he was 17.
Promoted to the EFL ahead of the 2022/23 season, Kirk made his Championship debut in 2024/25, finishing the campaign as fourth official for the League Two playoff final at Wembley. That was his second appearance at the national stadium, having also been the fourth official there for the EFL Trophy final in 2024.
Ruebyn Ricardo
Ricardo's route to the top has been an interesting one, as he only started refereeing in 2013 when he broke his wrist in school and his PE teacher suggested he should referee some of the school football matches!
A PGMO Development Group official, Ricardo was the first referee of black heritage to officiate the FA Vase final at the end of last season, having already become the youngest black referee to officiate an EFL fixture in April 2023, aged just 25.
Ricardo made his Championship debut last season and was fourth official for the Premier League match between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur in May.
Ben Toner
Since joining the Development Group, 39-year-old Toner has added further Championship appointments to his CV. He made his EFL debut in 2015 and Championship debut in the 2022/23 season.
Refereeing since the age of 15, Toner made his Wembley debut at the end of last season when he oversaw the League Two playoff final between AFC Wimbledon and Walsall.