By Daniel Edu
The Premier League referees involved in the VAR error during the recent match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have been suspended from officiating league games in the upcoming weekend.
The video assistant referee, Darren England, who erroneously overturned a goal for Liverpool during the match, and his assistant, Dan Cook, who failed to insist on an on-field review by the match referee, will not be taking part in any matches next weekend.
The controversial incident occurred on Saturday, September 30, resulting in a 2-1 loss for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur. A pivotal moment in the game was when VAR England and assistant Cook did not correct the mistaken offside decision involving Luis Diaz.
The decision to suspend England and Cook for the weekend came as a consequence of what the PGMOL, the governing organization for Premier League referees, deemed a “significant human error.”
Liverpool, the aggrieved team, criticized the PGMOL’s handling of the incident, deeming its explanation “unacceptable” and asserting that it had undermined “sporting integrity.” On Monday, the club officially requested access to the audio recordings of the match officials to gain a better understanding of the communication breakdown that led to the error.
In addition to the suspension of the VAR officials, the match referee for the game, Simon Hooper, has been demoted to a VAR official role. He will oversee VAR duties for Bournemouth’s match against Everton.
Furthermore, the fourth official from the contentious Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool game, Michael Oliver, will be on duty as a VAR official in Luton Town’s match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. In the subsequent game, he will officiate the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City on Sunday.
