Reports claim that referee Mark Halsey could walk away from soccer due to the threats and abuse he’s received following the Wigan-Newcastle game he officiated over the weekend in which Wigan midfielder Callum McManaman sent Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara to the hospital with a knee-high tackle. Halsey told The Sun he did not see the incident despite being only 10 yards away, which is why he failed to award a free kick.

Ever since the incident, Halsey has been subjected to abuse on Twitter and elsewhere in the media. The Sun quotes a friend who says that, “after something like this he is left wondering whether it is all worth it. He didn't even sleep on Sunday.”

Meanwhile, former referee Graham Poll told talkSPORT that the 51-year-old should quit, suggesting he is no longer in good enough physical shape to referee. "I watch games and I see some referees who try their very hardest to run around as best as they possibly can and I get very disappointed when I see someone who doesn't do that. Mark used to be one of the fittest referees in the Premier League. He was incredible. I did fitness tests with him again and again. He was a very, very good referee.”

Poll added: “People asked me why I stopped when I was 42. I'd rather stop refereeing and people say you should have done another couple of years than go on too long. That's why I'm fearing for Mark.”