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      Premier League referees earning way less than European counterparts as officials forced to travel abroad to earn more

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      PREMIER LEAGUE referees are earning way less than their European counterparts, with some forced to travel abroad to earn more dosh.English officials are under the spotlight after last weekend’s VAR disaster during Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham.
      Premier League refs like VAR official Darren England are earning less than their European counterpartsCredit: Rex
      Darren England was the man behind the tech as he failed to let Luis Diaz’s legal goal to stand.
      It emerged afterwards that he had only just returned from the UAE, having a officiated a game there.
      And based on the salary for Premier League officials compared to other European refs, going abroad appears to be a good way to make some pocket money.
      Top-flight names like England, Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver receive a base salary of around £42,000.
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      For each individual game as the main ref, officials will also pocket £1,500.
      This drops to £850 while working as an assistant or on VAR.
      If a referee takes charge of 20 games each season, that works out at £30k.
      Another 20 matches on VAR comes to £17k.
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      And that makes for a grand annual total salary of £89k.
      But while it sounds like a lot, it’s just pennies compared with the riches on offer in Italy.
      In Serie A, referees get a base salary of £48k – and the incentives for matches are even greater.
      Officials can pocket a staggering £3,300 for each game – and £1,300 to work with VAR.
      If a ref had 20 games of each, that would work out at £66k, with VAR officials earning £26k.
      That would make for a total salary of £140k – £51k more than refs in the Premier League get.
      However, both England and Italy pale in comparison with Spain.
      The base annual salary for refs in LaLiga is £130k.
      Each game as an official is worth £3,600 – working out at £72k for 20 matches.
      VAR is worth £1,800 a pop for a total of £36k across 20 games.
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      And that brings in a mind-blowing total annual salary of nearly £240k – £151k more than Premier League refs.
      In addition, any officials deemed worthy of officiating in the Champions League will take home an extra £6k per game – making for a tasty pay day. More

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      PGMOL chief Howard Webb set to break silence on TV over shocking Liverpool VAR blunder

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      PGMOL boss Howard Webb will break his silence on the horrific VAR blunder during Tottenham’s win over Liverpool when he appears on Match Officials: Mic’d Up next week.Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside against Spurs on Saturday, before VAR Darren England and AVAR Dan Cook made a huge error in failing to overturn the on-field decision.
      Howard Webb will appear on TV to explain the VAR blunderCredit: Getty
      VAR failed to overturn the on-field decision after Luis Diaz’s goal was wronglyCredit: Sky Sports
      The PGMOL apologised for the “significant human error” – which was that the VAR did not realise the on-field call was to disallow the goal.
      Liverpool then demanded the VAR audio be released – which it was – before Jurgen Klopp called for the game to be replayed.
      But now PGMOL chief Webb, 52, will open up about the incident on the the second episode of Match Officials: Mic’d Up.
      The programme, that will be shown on Sky Sports and TNT Sports on Tuesday, is set to be joined on the broadcast by former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen.
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      Last month’s show analysed six different VAR incidents from the opening month of the Premier League season.
      But, according to The Mail, the upcoming episode is set to focus solely on what happened at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
      It will be the first official interview from a member of the PGMOL since the huge VAR error.
      VAR England and assistant Cook have both been axed from football fixtures this weekend.
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      But referee Hooper is in line to be VAR for Bournemouth’s trip to Everton on Saturday.
      After releasing the audio from the incident, the PGMOL also included a bullet point list of “key learnings” from the call.
      They read: “Guidance to Video Match Officials has always emphasised the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle will be clearly reiterated.
      “A new VAR Communication Protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions.
      “As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials.” More

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      Fans baffled by ‘weird’ VAR decision as ref checks screen and appears to give penalty before ‘changing his mind’

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      FOOTBALL fans were left baffled after a VAR review for a Brighton penalty led to a Marseille free-kick during their Europa League clash.The French giants scored a quick-fire first-half double to take control of the game.
      The referee gave a free-kick to Marseille after looking at a potential penalty to Brighton
      But Roberto De Zerbi’s side were given hope of a route back into the game when VAR began checking a potential handball against Marseille.
      Referee Mykola Balakin was sent over to the monitor to assess the validity of the possible infringement.
      And after seeing several replays, he appeared to turn around and signal for a penalty.
      TNT Sports commentators were convinced a spot kick had been awarded, while the graphic on the screen read “VAR decision: Penalty”.
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      However, it turned out the official had actually signalled for a free-kick for a foul by Jan Paul van Hecke as he grappled for the ball in the box prior to the handball.
      This left viewers at home thoroughly confused.
      And they were not the only ones as the Uefa website’s official updates read: “The referee is reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
      “VAR review.
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      “VAR in review.
      “Decision overturned: penalty awarded.
      “VAR review complete.
      “VAR decision: no penalty.
      “VAR decision confirmed.”
      Reacting to the incident one social media user said: “More time wasted. More confusion. More controversy. Classic VAR.”
      Another added: “Well, well, well… VAR in Marseille vs Brighton just put the PGMOL to shame.”
      While a third replied: “Brighton denied a clear handball penalty against Marseille. VAR called the ref to the monitor to give the penalty but the ref still refused, and claimed an imaginary ‘push’ foul by a Brighton player.”
      It has been a poor week for VAR following the controversy in Tottenham’s win over Liverpool on Saturday.
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      Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside against Spurs on Saturday, before VAR Darren England and AVAR Dan Cook made a huge error in failing to overturn the on-field decision.
      Liverpool then demanded the VAR audio be released – which it was – before Reds boss Jurgen Klopp called for the game to be replayed. More

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      PGMOL make HUGE decision on future of blunder VAR Darren England after Liverpool shambles as Jurgen Klopp demands replay

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      REFEREE Darren England is not expected to take charge of another Liverpool game this season following his VAR blunder on Sunday.England, 37, was responsible for failing to overturn the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal in the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.
      Darren England has been slammed for his VAR decision during Tottenham vs LiverpoolCredit: Getty
      Luis Diaz was clearly onside but VAR failed to overturn the decision to disallow the goalCredit: Sky Sports
      Jurgen Klopp has called for a replay of the matchCredit: Alamy
      The lines were drawn to show Diaz was onside, but both England and assistant VAR Dan Cook did not realise the on-field decision was to rule it out.
      Play resumed and the VAR officials did not interfere again, meaning the goal remained disallowed.
      Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp called for a replay of the match after the VAR audio had been released.
      And The Telegraph have confirmed it is “unlikely” the PGMOL will put England in charge of a Liverpool game for the remainder of the campaign.
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      That includes in both as a referee and VAR.
      However, he is understood to have received the backing of PGMOL boss Howard Webb and will not be sacked.
      Both England and Cook have been removed from officiating in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
      And they will not feature for at least another fortnight as domestic action pauses for the international break.
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      Saturday’s mistake was not England’s only high-profile error so far this season.
      During a game between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, he went to the monitor to look at a penalty he had awarded and stuck with his decision, before the Premier League’s Key Match Incident panel later judged him to have made the wrong call.
      England was also the VAR in charge of Nottingham Forest’s clash with Burnley during which he should gave reinstated a goal for Burnley that had been wrongly disallowed for handball. More

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      Who are referees Darren England and Dan Cook and why were they stood down?

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      REFEREE Darren England and assistant Dan Cook were stood down from duty following Tottenham’s fixture against Liverpool.Here we take a look inside the life’s of England and Cook and why they were stood down.
      Referee Darren England pictured during a Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester CityCredit: Getty
      Who are Darren England and Dan Cook?
      Darren England is a Premier League football referee.
      In December 2021, the PGMOL announced that England had been added to the 2022 FIFA list of International Match Officials.
      Prior to this, the sportsman had been a Premier League assistant referee between 2012 and 2015, before becoming a Select Group 2 referee in 2017.
      Dan Cook is a FIFA and Premier League assistant referee.
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      Why were the referees stood down?
      Darren England and Dan Cook were responsible for the VAR blunder during Tottenham’s win over Liverpool – after failing to tell referee Simon Hooper to overturn the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside.
      Diaz thought he’d put the visitors in the lead in the 34th minute with a nifty finish just inside the 18-yard box.
      But on-the-field ref Simon Hooper and VAR official England ruled out the goal – despite replays clearly showing Diaz was onside.
      Spurs quickly restarted the match, with VAR protocols preventing the error from being corrected.
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      Following this, Referees’ body PGMOL issued a statement claiming a “significant human error” had resulted in the blunder.
      They have since released audio detailing what went wrong.
      They also took action and removed England from VAR duty for Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
      A statement read: “PGMOL can confirm the following match official appointment changes for the remaining fixtures in match round 7 in the Premier League.
      “Darren England, VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture, and Dan Cook, AVAR on the same game, have been replaced for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford and Fulham v Chelsea matches today and tomorrow night respectively.
      “Craig Pawson will now assume England’s duties as fourth official at the City Ground while Eddie Smart will take over from Cook as assistant referee at Craven Cottage.”
      The referee will now sit out of the weekend’s fixtures along with Cook.
      Following the fiasco, Jurgen Klopp has now called for Tottenham vs Liverpool to be replayed.
      He said: “The audio didn’t change it at all. I wasn’t interested in why things happened. I saw the outcome, I saw a goal, we scored.
      “It’s important we really deal with it in a proper way. I mean all of the people involved, the referee, linesman, fourth official and VAR – they didn’t do it on purpose. Yes it was a mistake, an obvious mistake.
      “I say this not as manager of Liverpool but as a football person – I think the only outcome should be a replay. Probably will not happen.”
      What is VAR?
      Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has become commonplace in the world of football.
      Instead of just one person, a team of three people work together to review decisions made by the main referee.
      The team is made up of a current or former referee, their assistant, and a replay operator, who watch video footage of the relevant occurrences.
      The ref can request a review, or the video assistant will let the on-pitch referee know that a decision needs to be analysed.
      VAR can be called upon for four key on-field incidents:
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      Awarding goals
      Penalty decisions
      Red card decisions
      Cases of mistaken identity

      The VAR will relay information on calls and at times the on-pitch official might need to go and take a look at the action himself from a screen installed in the stadium. More

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      Neville slams Liverpool for ‘grabbing defeat from victory’ in handling of VAR blunder after Klopp calls for replay

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      GARY NEVILLE has slammed Jurgen Klopp for demanding that Saturday’s match with Tottenham should be replayed.Spurs won the game 2-1 courtesy of a last minute Joel Matip own goal after The Reds had gone down to nine men.
      Gary Neville has hit out at Jurgen Klopp for suggesting their loss to Tottenham should be replayedCredit: Getty
      Klopp says he thinks “the outcome should be a replay”Credit: PA
      But there was earlier controversy in the game after it looked as though Liverpool had taken the lead in the 34th minute through a Luis Diaz goal.
      But the opener was wrongly ruled out for offside, after VAR officials mistakenly believed that the on-field decision was to award a goal and confirmed what they thought was a decision to allow it to stand.
      The referee’s ruling body PGMOL subsequently came out and apologised for the mistake after the game.
      They also released audio detailing what went wrong at Stockley Park.
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      Klopp felt aggrieved at a number of decisions after the match, which he described as the most unfair he has ever been a part of.
      Liverpool responded on Sunday that they would “explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution” to make amends for the mistake.
      But now Liverpool want to explore the possibility of getting the game replayed.
      In Jurgen Klopp’s pre-match press conference before Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Union Saint Gilloise the manager said: “As a football person, I think the outcome should be a replay.
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      “Something like that [VAR making such a high-profile error] has never happened.”
      Gary Neville was clearly displeased with Klopp’s comments and took to Twitter to voice his concerns.
      Neville had previously been sympathetic to Liverpool’s position and said that Curtis Jones should not have been sent off for his tackle on Yves Bissouma.
      But he has drawn the line at asking for the match to be replayed, and said: “Can’t believe how Liverpool have grabbed defeat from victory in their handling of this ! They were wronged by a shocking mistake. End of!” Alongside three laughing emojis.
      The Premier League are not understood to be considering the prospect of a replay at this time.
      After Liverpool’s clash with Union Saint-Gilloise tomorrow, they travel to Brighton on Sunday for their next Premier League game. More

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      Jurgen Klopp calls for Tottenham vs Liverpool to be REPLAYED following VAR fiasco

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      JURGEN KLOPP has called for Tottenham vs Liverpool to be replayed after the VAR fiasco.The Reds were denied a goal after VAR officials failed to tell referee Simon Hooper to overturn the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s strike for offside.
      Jurgen Klopp has called for Tottenham vs Liverpool to be replayedCredit: Alamy
      The PGMOL have since apologised for the error and released audio detailing what went wrong at Stockley Park.
      Klopp felt aggrieved at a number of decisions after the match, which he described as the most unfair he has ever been a part of.
      The Reds boss felt neither Curtis Jones nor Diogo Jota deserved to be sent off, with Liverpool appealing Jones’ straight red card.
      The FA rejected that appeal but Klopp, speaking ahead of Liverpool’s game against Union Saint-Gilloise, feels the Spurs clash should be replayed.
      He said: “The audio didn’t change it at all. I wasn’t interested in why things happened. I saw the outcome, I saw a goal, we scored.
      “It’s important we really deal with it in a proper way. I mean all of the people involved, the referee, linesman, fourth official and VAR – they didn’t do it on purpose. Yes it was a mistake, an obvious mistake.
      “I say this not as manager of Liverpool but as a football person – I think the only outcome should be a replay. Probably will not happen.”
      Several fans have also called for the match to replayed given the magnitude of VAR’s error.
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      Diaz’s strike would have put the Reds 1-0 up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – instead they fell behind just two minutes later to Son Heung-min’s goal.
      The VAR responsible Darren England and his assistant Dan Cook have both been axed from football fixtures this weekend.
      But referee Hooper is in line to be VAR for Bournemouth’s trip to Everton on Saturday. More

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      Fans realise only man to spot Liverpool VAR error is NOT qualified ref and dub replay operator ‘breakout hero of 2023’

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      FOOTBALL fans have been left dumbfounded after realising the person that spotted the astonishing VAR blunder during Tottenham’s win over Liverpool was NOT a qualified referee.VAR failed to overturn the on-field decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal for offside on Sunday despite drawing the lines to show he was onside.
      Luis Diaz was clearly onside but VAR failed to overturn the on-field decisionCredit: Sky Sports
      It was the replay operator that spotted the goal had not been awarded rather than the VAR or AVAR
      VAR officials Darren England and assistant VAR Dan Cook then restarted the game, confirming the check was complete.
      What they somehow failed to realise was that the original decision was offside.
      And neither VAR England or AVAR Cook spotted their huge mistake when the game resumed – as has now been revealed following the release of the audio.
      Incredibly, it took the replay operator to point out that the goal had been awarded.
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      He can be heard saying: “Wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this?”
      AVAR Cook then responds: “Yeah.”
      The replay operator then asks again: “Are you happy with this?”
      Cook again bizarrely replies: “Offside, goal, yeah.”
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      Then realising his error, he tells England: “That’s wrong that, Daz.”
      Confused, VAR England says: “What?”
      Once again, the replay operator remains the clearest communicator, adding: “On-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this image? It’s onside. The image that we gave them is onside.”
      Only then does England realise the grave error as he can be heard swearing.
      The officials go on to insist they cannot stop the game and rectify the mistake as Diaz’s goal remained wrongfully disallowed.
      And fans on social media were left flabbergasted that the only unqualified official involved in the process was the one to spot the error.
      One supporter said: “Remarkable that it’s the replay operator who’s first to spot this catastrophic error rather than the collection of qualified referees present.”
      Another added: “Oh, except for the replay operator, who I think is not a referee, and immediately spots that something major has gone wrong.
      “He is then shouted down by the VAR, who just repeats ‘nothing we can do’ in a manner that is…not especially becoming.”
      A third replied: “The replay operator realising the massive mistake before any of the qualified PGMOL referees is hardly a positive either, is it?”
      While a fourth responded: “The replay operator noticed the error quicker than the team of paid ‘experts’ 😭😭😭.”
      And a fifth said: “Congrats to Replay Operator for becoming the the breakout hero of 2023.”
      Prior to asking for the audio to be released Liverpool published a strong statement about the incident.
      They said: ” Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.
      “We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.
      “It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.
      “That such failings have already been categorised as ‘significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.
      “This is vital for the reliability of future decision-making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.
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      “In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”
      The PGMOL took action on Sunday by removing VAR England from Nottingham Forest’s draw with Brentford. More