Official Michael Salisbury has been dropped for Sunday’s Premier League heavywieght clash between early title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal after Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) admitted the decision to disallow Fulham’s goal against Chelsea on Saturday was a mistake.
Salisbury was the VAR as Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of goals from Joao Pedro and an Enzo Fernandez penalty.
However, the main talking point from the game was the controversial decision to rule out Josh King’s first-half strike for the visitors following a VAR review.
It was a decision that incensed Fulham boss Marco Silva, who labelled the call “unbelievable”, and one that Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy described as one of the worst VAR mistakes of all time.
“How you disallow a goal like that is unbelievable,” Silva told TNT Sports after the game.
“We have meetings with referees and people in charge, we all want to win. VAR is not here to re-referee the game.
“I would prefer not to say something more because I would be punished. I want to be on the touchline next week to help my team, I don’t want to be fined.
“But it has been a difficult start to the season with some decisions.”
PGMO have since admitted an error was made, with chief Howard Webb believed to have contacted Fulham directly about the incident.
Salisbury will be replaced by John Brooks for the clash at Anfield.
