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VAR official will not officiate Liverpool for remainder of the season after mistake
Published 19:04 4 Oct 2023 BST
Updated 19:05 4 Oct 2023 BST
Homesport
He still retains the backing of Howard Webb however
The VAR official who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding Liverpool's offside goal will not officiate the Reds for the rest of the season.
On Saturday, Liverpool lost 2-1 at Tottenham in a game marred by controversy after Luis Diaz’s first-half strike was flagged off-side by the linesman.
Despite replays showing the Liverpool forward was onside, the video assistant referee (VAR) told referee Simon Hooper that the check was complete and no change should be made to the on-field decision.
After the game, Liverpool released a statement in which they said “sporting integrity had been undermined” and that the club would “explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”
Then, on Tuesday evening, the PGMOL – the body responsible for officiating in English football – released the VAR audio of the decision-making process for Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal and conversation between the officials involved.
As a result, Darren England has been removed along with assistant Var Dan Cook for this weekend's Premier League fixtures but both still retain the backing of PGMOL chief, Howard Webb - as per The Telegraph.
In response to the controversy, England has been informed that he will no longer work on any games involving Liverpool for the rest of the season.
Jurgen Klopp meanwhile believes “it would be the right thing” to have the game replayed if the opportunity came about.
He said: “Something like this never happened, so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do,” he said.
“The audio didn’t change it at all. It is an obvious mistake. There should be solutions for that. The outcome should be a replay. But it probably won’t happen.
“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.”
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