Premier League attracts the best players, coaches, executives. Why not the best referees?

It’s not really rocket science (or controversial) to suggest that in most industries, if you attract the best and brightest, regardless of race, religion, gender or country of origin, standards will rise. The Premier League is, by virtually any metric, the most successful football league in the world, and also the most diverse and cosmopolitan. Part of the league’s success story lies in attracting not just top players and coaches from around the world, but also some of the best executives, sports scientists and, yes, ownership groups from every corner of the globe.

It’s Economics 101: As markets open and globalize, competition for places increases and the available talent pool expands. This doesn’t just apply to football, which is why in most developed nations there are very few jobs reserved exclusively for “natural-born” citizens, whether by rule or by practice: president, some law enforcement jobs, some intelligence jobs and, well, that’s basically it.

Oh wait, one more: top-flight referee.

The Premier League has embraced “outsiders” (for lack of a better word) more than any other league, perhaps in any sport, and that practice has been a runaway success both on the pitch and commercially. It’s not the only reason behind its success of course, but it’s a major reason.

And yet, in three decades of existence, the league has featured only two referees from outside the United Kingdom. One was Dermot Gallagher, who emigrated from Ireland to England aged 16 (and would hide his Irish accent) and the other is Jarred Gillett, who is Australian and took charge of his first Premier League game this season. (More on Gillett later, because his is very much a special case.)

It’s one area where, progressive as the Premier League may be elsewhere, it remains staunchly conservative and protectionist — much like Europe’s…