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AFP via Getty Images
The officials have been announced for Liverpool’s away trip to face Newcastle United and it is a controversial call by the Premier League.
Liverpool and Newcastle have been inextricably linked throughout the summer with the custody battle for Alexander Isak no nearer to a conclusion.
The Toon talisman won’t be on display at St James’ Park after a most public of falling outs with his club and a statement complaining about “broken promises” as the 25-year old looks to force through a move to the Reds despite no official confirmation of a second bid – yet.
A second offer has been rumoured after a £110m bid wasn’t enough with Hugo Ekitike being signed almost as a statement of intent and Newcastle will get to see at first hand what they have missed out on. A much-anticipated clash could be a tempestuous one and worryingly for Liverpool, the man in the middle has a reputation for letting the big occasion get the better of him.
Premier League announce Newcastle vs Liverpool referee
The Premier League has announced the officials for the second round of games with Simon Hooper chosen to referee a fixture that rarely passes without incident. Something that the whistler himself has struggled to get through games without in the not so distant past.
Hooper has been criticised by Howard Webb and Jon Moss for huge blunders with Jurgen Klopp having sleepless nights after a fiasco against Spurs in which a Luis Diaz goal was wrongly given as offside and two Liverpool players were sent off.
Pep Guardiola also isn't on Hooper’s Christmas card list with a clear goal scoring opportunity being denied by a premature whistle stopping Jack Grealish from running in on goal against Spurs in December 2023.
The full officiating team is: Referee: Simon Hooper. Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Simon Long. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Steve Meredith.
What have managers said about Simon Hooper blunders in the past?
Pep Guardiola wasn’t happy after seeing a clear goal scoring opportunity denied by Hooper in the aforementioned clash v Spurs: “Next question. I’ll not do a Mikel Arteta comment. It’s hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he’s already said play on. After the pass, the whistle, I do not understand.
“I don’t want to criticise them (the referees). Sometimes on the touchline I lose my mind, but here I don’t like to comment. We didn’t draw because of that. The master of commander Anthony Taylor (fourth official), who knows everything in this business, and he didn’t tell me anything.”
Jurgen Klopp couldn’t put the shambolic performance of Hooper at Spurs out of his mind: “I don’t want to make it the biggest subject but I cannot forget the [last] Tottenham game as well, it was just so strange.
“Only the other night was the first time since Tottenham that Simon Hooper was standing next to me for 90 minutes in a game I didn’t enjoy in the first place against Everton. I tried to get it out of my head and couldn’t.
“Now we play Tottenham and that was obviously not their fault that night, they just played the game, but I would like to win that game for 500 reasons and that we lost there in the way we lost is one of them.”
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