Ref Kevin Friend removed from PL officiating duty after ‘ridiculous’ Liverpool penalty

Friend will not take charge of any Premier League games this weekend

Kevin Friend will not officiate any Premier League games this weekend following the controversy surrounding his decision to award Liverpool a penalty in their win against Crystal Palace. Friend had originally given a free-kick after Diogo Jota collided with Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, but after being advised to look at the incident again by Craig Pawson, the referee reversed his decision and pointed to the spot. Fabinho scored the resulting spot-kick to give Liverpool a 3-1 win against the Eagles in South London, but the aftermath of the game led to talking points about the decision to award the Reds a penalty. The decision was met with anger and has been labelled as one of the most controversial moments of the season and The Times have now confirmed that as a result, the 50-year-old will not be in charge of any games this weekend. The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) often insist that officials are rotated between the Premier League and EFL - however, some officials who have been involved in mistakes are taken off duty to keep them out of the limelight. Whilst he won't be involved with any fixture this weekend, it is expected that Friend will remain in charge of the Championship game between Cardiff City and Peterborough United on Wednesday February 9. Meanwhile, Pawson - who was in charge of VAR for the game at Selhurst Park - hasn't faced the same treatment as Friend and will be on officiating duty as the referee for Burnley's game against Watford, before acting as the fourth official next Tuesday for Everton's game against Newcastle United. Related links:

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