Ex-Sky Sports anchor Richard Keys says two pundits were ordered NOT to criticise referees

Richard Keys has claimed that two pundits received calls from a high-ranking Premier League official to ask them not to criticise officials.

The former Sky Sports anchor, who now leads beIN Sports’ coverage, has suggested that rival broadcasters are being censored when it comes to their analysis of refereeing mistakes. Keys has ripped into the PGMOL and claimed that the batch of officials are “no longer fit for purpose”.

“Here we are again. Every f****** week. It simply isn’t good enough,” he wrote in his weekly blog. “It can’t go on. I repeat what I said recently - our current crop of match officials aren’t fit for purpose. They’re hopeless. And they’re ruining the best league in the world.”

His comments come after another week of controversial decisions in the Premier League. The most high-profile of which came during Arsenal ’s defeat at Newcastle. Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game, with the strike only allowed after a lengthy VAR check.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta branded the decision a “disgrace” in his post-match comments, with the club subsequently backing up his rant. And Keys believes the Spaniard was well within his rights to hit out following what he labelled as “one of the biggest injustices of the season”.

He went on to suggest that while he and partner Andy Gray were able to speak freely on the topic, pundits elsewhere are not afforded the same luxury. Keys added: “I’m in the luxurious position of being able to say what I think about the falling standards of officialdom in our top league - but imagine taking a call from a high ranking PL broadcast official reminding you who pays your wages. Scary.

“It happened to two people that I know recently. The message was clear ‘stop criticising the refs’. What