The referee came under scrutiny after sending Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson off last weekend.
The referee at the heart of several controversial decisions during Leeds United’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace has not been assigned to any fixtures this weekend.
Thomas Bramall endured a difficult afternoon at Selhurst Park last weekend with a number of key decisions coming under scrutiny. None more so than his decision to send off Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson through two yellow cards, the second of which was very soft.
Gudmundsson and Ismaila Sarr collided on the halfway line with Bramall quick to brandish a yellow, seemingly forgetting he’d already booked the Swede. The experienced Premier League referee had to be reminded by Palace players and fourth official Paul Tierney.
Bramall then failed to show a second yellow card to Palace wing-back Brennan Johnson when he brought down James Justin to stop a counter-attack, his fourth foul of the game. The official did get one decision correct, awarding Leeds a penalty for handball by Will Hughes while his assistant rightly disallowed a Jefferson Lerma goal for offside.
The Premier League have now confirmed that Bramall will not officiate a top-flight match, nor will he be on VAR duties for any game. The Sheffield-born official also doesn’t appear on any official appointments across the Championship, League One and League Two.
Bramall has taken charge of 18 Premier League games so far this season, with a further three in the Championship. The tier-one referee has therefore gone without taking charge of a fixture in previous gameweeks but it’s unclear if he’s ever been given a full weekend off.
Those decisions at Selhurst Park have been a major talking point throughout the week so far, with former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher insisting Gudmundsson was correctly sent off while Johnson deserved to stay on. Many other pundits and ex-officials have disagreed while Farke highlighted the inconsistency between both decisions in his post-match press conference.
"I'm not sure there are really words needed, everyone in the stadium could see," Farke said. "It was not even close to a yellow card, there was no pace in the duel, it was not a tactical foul.
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“Why he has decided to give a yellow, has forgotten this player is on a yellow and was himself surprised his decision means a sending off. When you compare this when Brennan Johnson [on a yellow] was there with a tackle with more pace, a clear tactical foul - it was not a yellow for me, I'm not asking for a yellow/red.
“But for Gabi, his second foul of the game, then the game is influenced in a key matter. Details make the difference, a player less makes 10 per cent difference more or less. Thank God we found a way to travel with a point."
Jarred Gillett has been placed in charge of Brentford’s visit to Elland Road on Saturday night. He will be assisted by Simon Long and Nick Greenhalgh, with Anthony Backhouse the fourth official and Matt Donohue on VAR duties.
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