Former World Cup referee Anders Frisk believes the general standard of refereeing has improved dramatically in recent years, but admits that differing interpretations of the rules hinder officials.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently slammed Professional Game Match Officials Board manager Keith Hackett for his apparent lack of action in dealing with underperforming officials.

However, Frisk, who retired from football following the fall-out from Chelsea's volatile UEFA Champions League clash with Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2005, is adamant that refereeing is improving across the world.

Credit

"We have to give credit for so many [good] refereeing decisions," he exclusively told skysports.com.

"I think we have improved very, very much and we can thank Uefa for that. The courses have helped.

"Definitely [refereeing is improving]. But we cannot, will not and shall not have 100 per cent correctness, because that is not football."

Frisk also stated that the inconsistency in the adaptations of rules across the world's leagues and competitions creates a problem for referees.

"It is so important that we have the same interpretation in the matches. It is a big problem for the referees," he continued.

Interpretations

"We have a bit of a way to go for everyone to have the same interpretations.

"It is very important, and I stress this often, that international football and domestic football has the same application.