Premier League referee Roger East will not be able to take charge of games in the top flight or the Football League after failing a pre-season fitness test, according to The Sun.
All referees must meet a minimum level of fitness set by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited and it is believed the 53-year-old failed to do so at the pre-season meeting.
The report claims East was feeling unwell on the day of the test and was unable to complete it to a satisfactory standard. He is now unable to officiate until he does.
He was scheduled to take charge of Gillingham’s League One fixture against Burton Albion last weekend, but was replaced by Lee Probert.
East took charge of 18 Premier League games last season, dishing out 55 yellow and two red cards in the process, and also officiated the Championship play-off semi-final, first leg tie between Derby and Fulham.
He has been present on the national list for 12 years and was given Select Group One status in 2013.
His biggest controversy of the previous campaign came in Watford's dramatic 2-2 draw with Southampton in January, when he failed to chalk off Abdoulaye Doucoure's late equaliser for handball.
In 2016, East took the unusual step of emailing Bournemouth midfielder Eddie Howe to apologise for his failure to give them what looked to be a stonewall penalty against Stoke City.
The Sun also claim Simon Hooper, who refereed one Premier League match last term, also failed the fitness test at the first time of asking but has since passed.
Hooper acted as fourth official in Everton's 2-2 draw with Wolves on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
pateilopru
0
Roger East was a twat anyway
zomclmoprz
0
All the English referee are not good enough .is better to bring Var.many mistake
zusammae
1
Sorry, but most referees are not fit to officiate football matches. Mainly due to incompetence, not fitness!!!!
Julylove
1
They should ban Mike Dean as well. For lack of brain fitness.
haoshib
1
Man sick on day of test, allowed to retake when not sick. Non story.
completely
1
FIFA knows this that is the reason they don't want them at world cup. Almost every referees in EPL doesn't suppose to be officiating matches e.g. Mike Dean
Chiratopher
0
Who in their right mind would become a soccer ref and endure 90 mins of verbal abuse and harassment every week? Soccer has exactly the level of refs it deserves and until it cleans up it's act and stamps out the foul mouth abuse directed at match officials, it always will. Ask yourself why Soccer refs don't have their microphones open for the public to hear what's being said? Then they get players to wear an armband with "RESPECT" written on it! The definition of hypocrisy.
NOher
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No wonder Clattenburg went to Saudi Arabia