Premier League PGMOL makes shocking late change to VAR official ahead of Arsenal v Man City clash

Following his huge error on Saturday, John Brooks has been replaced as the VAR official for Liverpool vs. Everton and Arsenal vs. Manchester City.

Brooks was the VAR official for Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday, and he made a critical error by disallowing a first-half Pervis Estupinan goal for offside, with the lines drawn incorrectly, as the Seagulls were forced to settle for a point against their rivals, jeopardising their European qualification hopes.

Andre Marriner will now take over VAR duties for the Merseyside derby on Monday, while David Coote will be the VAR official for Arsenal’s huge clash against Premier League title rivals City – following controversy in their draw with Brentford – which may have implications in the race for the trophy this season.

Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday was only allowed to stand because VAR official Lee Mason also failed to draw the lines that would have shown Christian Norgaard was offside in the build-up to Ivan Toney’s goal.

‘PGMOL can confirm that its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League matches on Saturday,’ the governing body said in a statement.

‘Both incidents, which were caused by human error and were related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL,’ says the organisation.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, speaking on Sky Sports on Monday, shared his thoughts on the controversial Toney goal against Arsenal and admitted it was down to ‘human error’.

‘It’s a human error brought on by the fact that time is ticking away, and three minutes can seem like an eternity to a spectator,’ Gallagher explained. ‘You can hear them, and that has to bother him. He just shut it down a little too soon.’

‘Lee Mason performed two thorough checks, which took three minutes,’ he added.

‘There is no doubt in his mind that Ethan Pinnock is in an offside position. He’s decided that because the ball is so high, he can’t head it and isn’t interfering with play because he hasn’t touched it.

‘Does he make contact with a defender? I believe the VAR looks at it and is behind it, making it difficult. He determines that it is not a foul, which is a subjective factor.

‘He’s so focused on that that I believe he switches off. He’s forgotten to finish it all the way through.

‘It’s not panic, but it’s ‘I’ve taken three minutes and haven’t found an offence, people are going to wonder why I’ve checked it so frequently’.

He then fails to check the Norgaard offside, which is where the problem arises.

‘It’s about saying on Tuesday, ‘you’ve taken three minutes, you’re not going to get that back, what’s the harm in taking another 15 or 20 seconds, pointed it out,’ and we wouldn’t be standing here at 11 a.m. today.’

‘It’s just a human error,’ Gallagher said of the disallowed Brighton goal. They run the lines through James Tomkins’ body. Marc Guehi is clearly further behind if you look across the field.

‘Had they drawn the line through his body, Estupinan would have been onside and the goal would have been given.

‘It’s one you have to apologise for. VAR made a mistake due to human error.’

On both incidents, Gallagher added: The thing you have to get into [them] mentally is, irrespective of how long it’s going to take, you’ve to go right the way through with A, B, C and D.

‘If it doesn’t stop at D, you must continue. Sorry, Lee, but you have to do it for as long as it takes. Everyone in the VAR room, not just Lee.

‘I believe that is what will happen. It’s not just Lee and John Brooks. It’s about everyone – and we’re all in it together – having the same mentality of ‘the time is irrelevant, the decision is the most important.’