Former referee's stunning swipe at Tony Archer

Sacked Souths coach Michael Maguire has been appointed as the new NRL referees coach, prompting a stunning response from a former whistleblower.

7News reporter Liam Cox reported on Tuesday that Maguire, who was axed from the Rabbitohs earlier this year, would take over the role previously held by Tony Archer.

According to Cox, Maguire spoke to Brad Arthur about an assistant coaching role at Parramatta before accepting the job at the NRL.

The 43-year-old led the Rabbitohs to a drought-breaking premiership in 2014 and still has aspirations to coach.

“It would be good to come from a footy angle, and not just refereeing,” Maguire told News Corp last week.

“At some stage I’d like to get back into the coaching ranks but I also want to stay in the game and help grow the game in some capacity.

“Having a break gives you a chance to stop and assess what you’ve been doing. Long term I think it’s going to be beneficial.”

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The news about Maguire led to former NRL player and referee Luke Phillips piping up on Twitter with a stunning spray at the current regime.

"Hopefully he has the balls to stand up to Archer, Sutton and Smith or nothing will change," Phillips tweeted.

Phillips, who played 105 first grade games from 1996-2002, refereed for two seasons before quitting in 2014.

He clearly isn't a fan of his former boss, taking to social media earlier this year to slam Archer once again.