Following Liverpool’s erroneous goal being incorrectly disallowed in their 2-1 Premier League loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, VAR officials Darren England & Dan Cook have been changed for two games this matchweek.
Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were both dismissed from the game, which reduced Liverpool to nine men. Joel Matip’s own goal in stoppage time gave Spurs the victory.
The Merseyside team believed they had seized the lead in the first half when Luis Diaz snuck in behind the defense and blasted past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario into the bottom corner. The goal, however, was disallowed by the referee for offside.
The organization that oversees referees, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), eventually acknowledged that it was the erroneous call to rule against Diaz’s effort, attributing the error to human error and that the goal “should have been awarded through VAR intervention.”
The PGMOL said on Sunday that Darren England, the VAR for the Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool game, and Dan Cook, the assistant VAR for the same match, had been swapped out for the matches between Fulham and Chelsea tonight and Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford tomorrow.
At the City Ground, Craig Pawson will now take over England’s responsibilities as the fourth official, and Eddie Smart will succeed Cook as the assistant referee at Craven Cottage.