The two referees who incorrectly disallowed Liverpool’s goal on Saturday will miss this weekend’s Premier League games.
In the Reds’ 2-1 loss against Tottenham, a “significant human error” led to Luis Diaz’s attempt being incorrectly disallowed for offside. Darren England and Dan Cook were the VAR and assistant VAR at the time.
The two were replaced for their upcoming games, according to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), who made the announcement on Sunday. Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart filled in for England and Cook, who were scheduled to officiate the match between Fulham and Chelsea on Monday and serve as fourth and assistant referees, respectively.
Additionally, when the Premier League issued their list of officials for matchweek eight coming Saturday and Sunday, neither England nor Cook were included.
The fourth official for the Fulham game that followed the Tottenham-Liverpool match and the on-field referee for the latter, Simon Hooper, will serve as VAR when Everton hosts Bournemouth on Saturday.
PGMOL released a statement claiming that “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been awarded but “the VAR failed to intervene” after Diaz’s 34th-minute shot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed.
Planet Sport is aware of Liverpool has formally asked PGMOL for the recording of the conversation about the incident between Hooper and England.
In a statement they released late Sunday night, Liverpool stated that they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”