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      Sky Sports set to make major change to TV schedule following recent VAR controversies

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      SKY SPORTS are set to make a major change to their “Mic’d up” referee show following the recent VAR controversy between Liverpool and Tottenham.The show has been running since the beginning of this season, and sees host Michael Owen talk through the week’s refereeing controversies with PGMOL chief Howard Webb.
      We will be seeing more ‘Ref’s Mic’d Up’ on our screens after the Spurs vs Liverpool VAR controversyCredit: Sky Sports
      The programme sees Webb explain that week’s decisions with the aid of audio between the referee and the VAR room.
      But going forward, it seems the show will be given much more access to VAR recordings and the programme will be shown more frequently.
      That comes after the huge error not to award a goal to Luis Diaz during Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham last week.
      Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed on the pitch for offside and VAR should have given the goal.
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      However miscommunication between Darren England’s VAR team and the referee saw the goal ruled out after the VAR team wrongly assumed that the goal had been given on-field.
      Play was therefore restarted and according to VAR protocol, the game cannot be taken back in time once a game has resumed.
      Henry Winter of The Times reports the show will now be shown more regularly and be granted greater access to decision making in order to regain trust in the VAR process.
      Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was enraged by the decision to rule Diaz’s goal out and suggested that the game should be replayed in light of it, saying: “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.
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      “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.”
      Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou meanwhile broke his silence on the matter earlier today and said that he expects referees at the top level to make mistakes.
      Postecoglou said: “I don’t think anyone realised that something significant had happened during the game. It was only when I got to the press conference that I knew something important must have been happening. A fairly significant adventure in a game of football. 
      “Whatever I say will be seen through the prism that we were the beneficiaries of a mistake and we certainly were. The facts of it are that there was a legitimate goal that wasn’t given. It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue, it was a mistake in communication that cost Liverpool a goal. 
      “We want an errorless faultless system that doesn’t exist and will never exist, unless we want to turn our game into an event that goes for four hours while we’re explaining every decision.”
      Postecoglou suggested that changing the language used around VAR checks may make it easier to decipher whether an error has been made in the future.
      He said: “From my perspective when I listened to that audio, saying ‘check complete’, someone obviously thought it was a good way of finalising things and it’s worked up until now.
      “I would have thought the logical thing is to say ‘goal for Liverpool’ and there isn’t anything but I’m saying that with the ignorance of not knowing how it’s truly set up.
      “When listening to that you probably think there’s better ways of communicating a clear decision in such a big situation.” More

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      Ange Postecoglou breaks silence on Liverpool disallowed goal as Spurs boss reveals fears over ‘sending club down’

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      SPURS manager Ange Postecoglou has broken his silence on the VAR controversy that took place in Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool last week.Tottenham emerged from the game victorious after a 96th minute Joel Matip own goal in a game that included two contentious red card decisions for Liverpool.
      Postecoglou says he did not realise an error had occurred until after the gameCredit: Reuters
      When asked if Liverpool should have been able to walk the ball in he said it’s not up to the managers to be “arbiters” of footballCredit: Sky Sports
      But the bulk of Liverpool, and their manager, Jurgen Klopp’s, ire has been put on the decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s first-half strike to put Liverpool 1-0 up.
      Diaz was onside but the linesman flagged him as off.

      In a mix-up, which saw the VAR officials think that the on-field decision was to allow the goal, VAR chief Darren England mistakenly told the ref the game could carry on and the goal was struck off.
      A fuming Klopp said ahead of his side’s Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise that he believes the game should have been replayed in light of the mistake.
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      Klopp said: “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.”
      It was to put to Postecoglou in his pre-match press conference before Spurs’ trip to Luton that it might have been the right thing for Spurs to allow Liverpool to score a goal once it became clear that Diaz’s goal had been wrongly ruled out.
      But Postecoglou said that he would not have instructed his team to do that because he wants to trust the process of VAR.
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      Postecoglou said: “I just don’t see that. If we want managers to be the arbiters of these kind of things. We’ve got pretty hefty responsibilities at our football clubs but we’re not the custodians.
      “I wouldn’t make a decision that could potentially send a club down on the back of what my beliefs are.
      “In that moment, if somebody could tell me that they could explain everything that went on within the prism of 30 seconds…. I have to make a decision and it wasn’t going to happen.
      “It’s different if it’s something clear. It was a bad error through a lack of communication but it wasn’t something that was easily explainable. If it was easily explainable, I would assume there would have been [less] uproar than there was.”
      The Spurs boss said he did not realise an error had been made until after the game, but said that all he can do is trust in the refereeing process and expect some degree of human error.
      He continued: “I don’t think anyone realised that something significant had happened during the game. It was only when I got to the press conference that I knew something important must have been happening. A fairly significant adventure in a game of football. 
      “Whatever I say will be seen through the prism that we were the beneficiaries of a mistake and we certainly were. The facts of it are that there was a legitimate goal that wasn’t given. It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue, it was a mistake in communication that cost Liverpool a goal. 
      “We want an errorless faultless system that doesn’t exist and will never exist, unless we want to turn our game into an event that goes for four hours while we’re explaining every decision.”
      Postecoglou suggested that changing the language used around VAR checks may make it easier to decipher whether an error has been made in the future.
      He said: “From my perspective when I listened to that audio, saying ‘check complete’, someone obviously thought it was a good way of finalising things and it’s worked up until now.
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      “I would have thought the logical thing is to say ‘goal for Liverpool’ and there isn’t anything but I’m saying that with the ignorance of not knowing how it’s truly set up.
      “When listening to that you probably think there’s better ways of communicating a clear decision in such a big situation.” More

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      Premier League make major change to VAR protocol THIS WEEKEND to avoid repeat of Liverpool shambles

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      THE PREMIER LEAGUE have announced a major change to their VAR protocol in light of the fiasco involving Liverpool and Spurs last week.VAR bosses will now have to confirm their decisions with their VAR assistants before a decision is made from now on.
      Chief VAR operators will now have to confirm their decisions with their assistantsCredit: Rex
      The change comes after the PGMOL apologised for the wrongful application of VAR to rule out Luis Diaz’s first half goal against Tottenham Hotspur last week.
      After Liverpool requested audio of the mistake was released, it emerged that the error occurred after VAR operator Darren England thought the on-field decision was to give the goal.
      In actual fact, the linesman had raised his flag so the words “check complete” essentially meant VAR approved the decision to disallow the goal.
      After the mistake, the PGMOL said on Tuesday they would be reviewing the protocol going forward.
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      Going forward, the chief VAR operator will have to confirm his decision with his assistant (AVAR) operator before they communicate the decision back to the on-field referee.
      It is hoped that this added part of the process will provide clarity on each decision and rebuild trust in VAR as a system, something that was harmed in the events at Tottenham.
      The debate over ruling Diaz’s goal offside has rumbled on all week and saw Klopp asked about his view on the events before Thursday’s Europa League tie against Union Saint-Gilloise.
      In his press confernce, Klopp said he believed that VAR had failed so emphatically in Liverpool’s game against Tottenham that he would have liked to see the game replayed.
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      The manager said: “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.”
      Ironically the first game in which this new process will be implemented is the beneficiaries of last week’s cock-up, Tottenham Hotspur.

      Spurs play in the early kick-off against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Saturday at 12:30.
      Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou also had his say on the controversy ahead of tomorrow’s game, and said that he saw the mistake as an error of communication.
      Postecoglou said: “Whatever I say will be seen as we’re the beneficiary. The facts are Liverpool got a legitimate goal that wasn’t given, you have to think why did this happen.
      “It wasn’t an integrity issue, it was an error in communication, it was a mistake that cost Liverpool a goal. I get it is an unusual one but at the same time we’re in a new space with the technology.” More

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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