Due to Darren England and Dan Cook’s significant blunder during Liverpool vs. Tottenham yesterday, they have been relieved of the remainder of their duties for this weekend’s games.
During Saturday’s game, the pair informed the referee that Luis Diaz’s first-half goal should not have stood because it was offside. However, there was a communication breakdown because they mistakenly notified the guy in the middle that the check was complete, thinking the goal was onside.
Although there was “significant human error” in the judgement, The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) stated in a statement following the game that it did not help Jurgen Klopp’s squad at this time.
According to Dale Johnson, due to the error, Darren England has been removed as the fourth official for today’s match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, and Dan Cook has been removed as the assistant referee for Fulham’s match against Chelsea on Monday.
First new development.
Darren England (VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture) removed as 4th official for Nottingham Forest v Brentford today.
Dan Cook (AVAR on the game) removed as assistant referee for Fulham vs. Chelsea on Monday.
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) October 1, 2023
Due to the publicity this mistake has received, the two are very likely not going to have any responsibilities for the games next weekend either. There will need to be a thorough debrief after the Tottenham and Liverpool game.
Due to choices made this season in the Premier League, a lot of supporters have lost faith in VAR, and the Luis Diaz error will only exacerbate this since the decision that needed to be made was crystal clear.
