"We haven't been formally approached by UEFA. At the moment it's only an initiative UEFA are planning and has only been raised in the broadest possible terms."
Before the scheme can begin next season, it has to be given the go-ahead by the FA and the Premier League.
Initially, it would only involve a reciprocal agreement between England and another European country and the FA's two elite referees, Riley and Graham Poll, would be the only Premiership officials to take part.
It has not yet been decided how many games a season the programme would involve.
A foreign exchange scheme for referees has long been advocated by top European officials.
There is currently an informal agreement which sees a referee from Luxembourg taking charge of French league matches and French referees officiating Bundesliga games.
Today's announcement will take this to a new dimension.
Poll today described the initiative as a "major step forward, bringing referees even more in line with players".
He added: "The idea of handling a Milan derby or Barcelona versus Real Madrid is hugely appealing for me, a different challenge that would be good for experience and could only enhance domestic performances.
"It would be fascinating to see the reaction to Anders Frisk handling a north London derby or to see if the players in heated local spats behave as well as they do in major European ties if they are unsure of the referee."
Poll said the initiative could be of even more benefit to referees on the Continent.
"A significant difference in the build-up to big matches such as derbies in England and Europe is that the referee is rarely mentioned here, but this is not the case on the Continent," he said.
"I know from speaking to Collina and others that the intense pressure on referees elsewhere in such matches can almost be intolerable.
"A way to alleviate this is to fly a referee in for the game and fly him out first thing the day after the match, as is usual for the Champions League."
