I write to register my disappointment and frustration with the level of competency displayed by the officials at the above match.

There were a number of issues that I believe were not handled properly and in accordance with the rules of the game.

1. Referee Friend did not stop the game when Olise of Crystal Palace landed heavily following an attempt to win the ball in the air in which he sustained a blow to the head. Friend appeared to gesture to the player to get up and carry on with the game. Surely Friend had a responsibility to ensure the safety of the players welfare ?

2. During the build up to the second Liverpool goal, their forward, Firmino, was in an offside position when the ball was played. He attempted to make contact with the ball, therefore he could be considered to be ' active '. The fact that he failed to make contact should not have made any difference and I believe the outcome should have been a free kick for offside. Instead, play was allowed to continue resulting in a goal being scored. Was there a VAR check for that situation ? Should there have been ?? It is evident that VAR is being used to scrutinise even those events that do not look to be ' clear and obvious errors ' by the on-field officials, so I think it's fair to challenge why VAR wasn't employed on this occasion.

3. The Liverpool penalty awarded against the Palace goalkeeper. This incident has attracted more than enough comment and media attention so I will merely ask this ; if that was a clear and obvious error by the referee, why did VAR take so long to recommend that the referee review it on the pitch side monitor ? My perception is that this was reviewed numerous times by the VAR official prior to that recommendation being made - so ' clear and obvious ' ? - I don't think so. And it would appear that the only two people outside of Liverpool FC themselves that thought it a penalty was Pawson and, eventually, Friend.

There are a growing number of people, Players, Managers, The Media and ( last as always ) the paying public, that think that refereeing standards are slipping badly. The advent of VAR appears to be being used as some sort of ' comfort blanket ' by some. And the application of VAR - with yesterdays game being a prime example - is becoming as inconsistent as the referees themselves. I would add that I have long thought that Kevin Friend is a poor referee, an opinion held by supporters of numerous clubs. Yesterday merely reminded me of that.

The Premier League attracts some of the best players and managers in the world. It is marketed and priced as a Premium Product. At the moment it is being badly let down by the standard of officiating.

I imagine that you will have received a significant amount of mail relating to yesterdays game. However, I ask you the courtesy of a response. In particular I am interested to know your thoughts on standards , how to improve them, and what further improvements can be made when VAR is employed during games.

I look forward to hearing from you