VAR official axed and replaced for Merseyside derby and Arsenal vs Man City

13 February 2023 , 11:17

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John Brooks has been axed as VAR official for the Merseyside derby and Arsenal vs Man City (Image: Dave Howarth - CameraSport via Getty Images)

John Brooks has been axed as the VAR official for both Liverpool vs Everton and Arsenal vs Manchester City.

On a weekend dominated by refereeing howlers, Brooks disallowed a Brighton goal against Crystal Palace after making a 'human error' and failing to draw the offside lines from the correct defender. A string of mistakes across the weekend's games saw PGMOL chief Howard Webb call an emergency meeting at Stockley Park.

And Brooks has been removed from VAR duties for tonight's Merseyside derby and Wednesday's title showdown between Arsenal and Manchester City. Andre Marriner will now take over for the Merseyside derby with David Coote in place for Wednesday's game.

Brighton were left fuming after they an effort from their left-back Pervis Estupinan disallowed at Crystal Palace after intervention by Brooks at Stockley Park. The goal was later described as "human error" and an apology made to Brighton chiefs.

A spokesperson for the Seagulls said after the game: "As was confirmed to the club by PGMOL, a serious error was made in disallowing Pervis Estupinian's goal at Crystal Palace yesterday afternoon.

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"The lines drawn in the VAR room to determine whether Pervis was in an offside position were drawn incorrectly, and the goal should have stood. While hugely disappointed by the error, the club's accepted PGMOL's apology and will not be making any further comment."

PGMOL - the governing body in charge of refereeing in the Premier League - also released a statement acknowledging the significant errors made at the expense of both Brighton and Arsenal at the weekend.

John Brooks got the offside call in Crystal Palace vs Brighton badly wrong on Saturday (Twitter)

The Gunners conceded a goal to Brentford's Ivan Toney which saw their title ambitions dented by a 1-1 draw with the VAR official in that game, Lee Mason, failing to properly check for an offside in the build-up.

"PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday," PGMOL said.

"Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL."

Chelsea were also incensed that they weren't awarded a late penalty for a handball by Tomas Soucek in their match at West Ham, another 1-1 draw, although that decision has been described as a 'subjective' one by the PGMOL.

Rich Jones