Michael Salisbury has been stood down as VAR official for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal.
John Brooks will instead be in charge at Stockley Park for the eagerly-anticipated fixture between the reigning champions and their fellow title contenders, with both sides boasting 100 per cent records after the opening two rounds of fixtures.
The PA news agency understands Salisbury’s withdrawal is the result of his controversial involvement in an incident during Saturday’s game between Chelsea and Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
Josh King’s strike for Fulham at Chelsea was controversially chalked off after Michael Salisbury’s intervention
Josh King’s strike for Fulham at Chelsea was controversially chalked off after Michael Salisbury’s intervention(Adam Davy/PA)
He intervened to ask match referee Rob Jones to go to the pitchside monitor after Fulham midfielder Josh King had scored 21 minutes into the game, and ultimately the goal was chalked off when team-mate Rodrigo Muniz was adjudged to have stepped on Trevoh Chalobah during the build-up despite minimal contact.
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It is understood the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has acknowledged that the decision was an error and the incident did not meet the high bar for intervention as a clear and obvious error, and that referees’ boss Howard Webb has been in touch with Fulham.
Cottagers boss Marco Silva later described the decision as “unbelievable”, particularly after the Blues were later awarded a penalty for handball against Ryan Sessegnon.
He said: “Yes it’s handball from Sess, but before that moment you can find easy two or three fouls for ourselves.
“Our players went with the referee to the screen and they were laughing. A stamp on Alex Iwobi, handball from Joao Pedro and the pushing on Joachim (Andersen).
“It’s the same VAR that in the first half found something unbelievable like a stamp from Rodrigo. The same people didn’t see a stamp on Iwobi. I don’t understand the direction that it’s going.”
The change of personnel at Anfield, which PA understands was made on Saturday afternoon, means Oliver Langford and Peter Bankes will now act as fourth official and VAR respectively in the game between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.