Darren England and Dan Cook are AXED from this weekend’s Premier League fixtures after their VAR howler which saw Liverpool’s Luis Diaz denied a goal in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham
- Pressure is mounting on the PGMOL after Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Liverpool
- Darren England and Dan Cook have been punished further for their big blunder
- Click HERE to listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’
Under-pressure officials Darren England and Dan Cook have been dropped from this weekend’s Premier League fixtures following their catastrophic error during Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday evening.
The duo have been axed by the referees’ body PGMOL from top-flight duty after they incorrectly disallowed Luis Diaz’s opener for offside, with the Liverpool forward clearly played on by the outstretched leg of Tottenham’s Cristian Romero.
At the time of the incident, VAR England and assistant Cook mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside, so did not correct the blunder.
The incredulity of the decision has enraged Liverpool since – with the Merseyside outfit demanding that the PGMOL release the audio which led to that monumental error.
And with the saga ongoing, the PGMOL have made the decision to take England and Cook out of the firing line for the final round of Premier League fixtures before this month’s international break – which includes Arsenal versus Manchester City on Sunday as the standout encounter. John Brooks is the VAR with Darren Cann his assistant VAR.
PGMOL have confirmed that officials Darren England (left) and Dan Cook (right) have been dropped from this weekend’s Premier League fixtures after their blunder on September 30
VAR, which was being overseen by England and Cook, ruled out a Liverpool goal at Tottenham, despite replays clearing showing Luis Diaz was being played onside by Cristian Romero
Liverpool were denied an obvious goal after Diaz was adjudged to be offside in Saturday’s loss
Replays showed that the decision was the wrong one, with PGMOL coming out after the match to issue a statement
The disallowed strike came just three minutes before Son Heung-min’s opener for Spurs
beIN Sports showed a picture demonstrating how Diaz’s first-half goal was clearly onside
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While Liverpool may be pleased with that outcome, it won’t appease them.
Following the Reds’ demands to release the audio, there is a split among senior figures at the PGMOL to do so.
They are also reviewing their policy on referees working abroad, with England and Cook having officiated a match in the UAE just 48 hours before the gaffe.
Top-flight clubs are putting pressure on PGMOL to scrap the overseas jobs , claiming it undermines the competition.
The PGMOL admitted immediately after Spurs’ 2-1 win that ‘a significant human error occurred ‘ when the Colombian’s goal was ruled out.
It added: ‘This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention.’
Liverpool vowed to explore the range of options available – without naming any possible approaches – in a statement on Sunday night, with the club saying it had a clear need for escalation and resolution of the controversial decision.
Liverpool’s strongly-worded statement insisted that ‘unacceptable’ mistakes had been made in failing to award the goal.
OFFICIALS FOR THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7
Luton vs Tottenham, 12.30pm
Referee: John Brooks. Assistants: Neil Davies, Steve Meredith. Fourth official: Graham Scott. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR: Gary Beswick.
Burnley vs Chelsea, 3pm
Referee: Stuart Attwell. Assistants: Con Hatzidakis, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Oli Langford. VAR: Darren Bond. Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart.
Everton vs Bournemouth, 3pm
Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Tim Wood, Mark Scholes. Fourth official: Tom Bramall. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt.
Fulham vs Sheffield United, 3pm
Referee: Sam Barrott. Assistants: Simon Bennett, Dan Robathan. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger.
Manchester United vs Brentford, 3pm
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Harry Lennard, Nick Hopton. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest, 5.30pm
Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Richard West, Marc Perry. Fourth official: Chris Kavanagh. VAR: Michael Salisbury. Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis.
Brighton vs Liverpool, 2pm
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn. Fourth official: Craig Pawson. VAR: Chris Kavanagh. Assistant VAR: Mat Wilkes.
West Ham vs Newcastle, 2pm
Referee: Peter Bankes. Assistants: Eddie Smart, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth official: Michael Salisbury. VAR: Andy Madley. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.
Wolves vs Aston Villa, 2pm
Referee: Rob Jones. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Wade Smith. Fourth official: Paul Tierney. VAR: David Coote. Assistant VAR: Tim Wood.
Arsenal vs Manchester City, 4.30pm
Referee: Michael Oliver (pictured). Assistants: Stuart Burt, Lee Betts. Fourth official: Tim Robinson. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Darren Cann.
‘Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.
‘We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.
And it appears the first step is to ask the referee’s body PGMOL to give them access to the audio recording of the conversations that took place between on-pitch referee Hooper and the team in the VAR booth at Stockley Park.
PGMOL were contacted for comment.
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