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John Brooks dropped for high-profile Premier League clashes in VAR reshuffle after blunder during controversial weekend
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Published 13/02/2023 at 13:40 GMT
Premier League match official John Brooks has been replaced as the video assistant referee (VAR) for Monday's Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton and Wednesday's crucial top-of-the-table meeting between Arsenal and Man City. The change comes after Brooks’ error to disallow Brighton’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday. Andre Marriner and David Coote will replace him.
Arteta accuses officials of 'changing the rules' for Brentford’s equaliser
Video credit: SNTV
John Brooks has been replaced as the VAR operator for two high-profile Premier League matches following an error he made at the weekend.
After drawing the lines incorrectly for a potential offside call, Brooks wrongly disallowed a Brighton goal in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Following his mistake, Brooks has been replaced by Andre Marriner for Monday night’s Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton, while David Coote will take over for Manchester City’s crucial trip to Arsenal on Wednesday.
Brooks’ error was just one of a handful made in a controversial weekend for the technology.
The chief of referees' body PGMOL, Howard Webb, was forced to issue an apology to Arsenal and Brighton following controversial incidents, citing “human error”.
He has since called a meeting for all Premier League referees to discuss the mistakes made at the weekend, except for those on European duty.
Brentford’s equaliser against Arsenal, which earned the Bees a point and subsequently dented Arsenal’s title challenge, was wrongly allowed to stand after Lee Mason “forgot” to draw the lines to check Christian Norgaard's position relative to Arsenal's defenders.
The goal was cleared after a lengthy check, but replays suggested Norgaard had drifted offside in the build-up, before crossing for Ivan Toney to head in from close range.
In an opposite scenario, Brighton's Pervis Estupinan was ruled to be offside after he struck on 32 minutes to put the Seagulls ahead.
The offside line was incorrectly drawn and was lined up against James Tomkins rather than fellow defender Marc Guehi, who was playing Estupinan onside.
Those two decisions stood out over the weekend, but there was more drama in the game between West Ham and Chelsea.
The Blues were denied a late penalty when Thomas Soucek appeared to stop a Conor Gallagher shot with his hand as he dived forward in an attempt to block the ball.
The man in charge, Craig Pawson, waved play on, while VAR failed to step in to make a decision.
Appointments for next weekend's round of fixtures are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
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