Referees Darren England and Dan Cook Benched Amid Ongoing VAR Controversy

Amidst the ongoing fallout from the recent VAR controversy, referees Darren England and Dan Cook have been stood down for another round of Premier League fixtures.

Criticism of the referees’ governing body, PGMOL, has been steadily mounting due to a series of contentious calls. VAR officials England and Cook were initially replaced for two games after VAR wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool, which would have given them a 1-0 lead in their match against Tottenham. However, this suspension has now been extended to cover an additional round of fixtures.

Simon Hooper, who served as the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool game and was the fourth official for Monday’s Fulham match, will assume the role of VAR official for the Everton vs. Bournemouth fixture this Saturday.

England was also slated to referee the Championship match between Preston and Leicester on Wednesday night but has been substituted with Thomas Bramall.

In the wake of the controversy, PGMOL has committed to a comprehensive review, acknowledging that the decision to disallow Luiz’s goal resulted from “significant human error.” Liverpool, in response, has asserted that the VAR mistake has undermined “sporting integrity” and has called for the release of the audio recording of the conversation between Hooper and England regarding the incident—a request that has yet to be fulfilled.

The club has also indicated its intention to explore various options to reach a suitable resolution.

This is the second time PGMOL has issued an apology this season, with the first instance occurring when a late penalty was not awarded to Wolves during their match against Manchester United, following a collision between Andre Onana and Sasa Kalajdzic.

These apologies come in the wake of a series of high-profile errors from the previous season, leading to widespread criticism of the VAR system. Jamie Carragher, a prominent figure in football punditry, expressed the sentiment that the perception of VAR has reached a low point, referring to it as a “crisis” and characterizing the recent decision as “horrendous” and “unprecedented.”