I was very happy to hear that finally Darren England has received a ban for his complete incompetence.

He should have had one after the joke of a decision after the Villa game, but it took it to happen against a 'bigger club' to finally get them to realise what a utter fool the man is!

He should be banned for longer but as if that will ever happen...

Some people are like Slinkies … not really good for anything, but you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.

From what I understand Darren England incorrectly thought the Liverpool goal had been awarded on field, saw that there was no offside and advised "check complete". He never actually said something like "check complete, no offside, the goal stands". It seems the referee never asked for clarification and assumed the offside decision stood.

It sounds like they need to do make it make it part of the process to finish any check by having VAR say something like "My decision is no offside. I confirm there is no offside. The goal stands. Please acknowledge".

A similar message could be given in the event of a negative outcome "My decision is the foul took place outside the penalty area. The penalty needs to be cancelled and a free kick awarded just outside the box. I confirm no penalty and a free kick to be awarded just outside the box. Please acknowledge".

In acknowledgement the referee then has to say something like "I hear your decision which is that there was no offside and the goal can stand". VAR then reply "Yes that is correct".

I know this seems really basic and maybe even patronising but the Liverpool mistake was so bad that they must be made to confirm VAR outcomes between themselves.

This is just about ensuring that good 2 way communication takes place and there is a checking mechanism. I would expect a professional organisation to have sorted that out long before going live.

The above would have prevented the Liverpool mistake. As for the others........

That was just a ridiculous penalty award, which is also what VAR thought and why they advised Darren England to go to the monitor to review his decision.

How he could look at it again and decide it was still a penalty is a mystery and a concern. The fact that he can make such a huge mistake regarding the Liverpool goal speaks volumes for his actual competency and explains a lot.

Edited by Phil’s Barber (02 Oct 2023 7.55am)

Watch the rugby world cup. That is exactly what they do.

Also, let's hear the discussion. This isn't MI5.

Edited by silvertop (02 Oct 2023 9.46am)

The problem here wasnt England though as others have said the communication could have been better.

The farce is down to the linesman who flaged the 'offside'

VAR protocol (yes that again ) states '' In the case of close offside calls the assistant referee will delay his/her flag. If a goal is then scored the assistant can raise the flag if they beleive there may have been an offside ''

So as it was onside the lino should at least have seen it was tight so should not have raised the flag . I seems England thought the VAR protocol had been followed so said check over no further action . By the time the ref had gone with the onfield decision it was too late to change it

While Im here the other farce which happens every week is when its tight but offside . The lino keeps the flag down and it goes out for a corner . There is then no redress for the offside and a goal is scored from the corner . Hows that fair ?

Anyway VAR is s***e it confuses the players ,it confuses the officials and by god it confuses the fans . Its hard enough trying to keep up when watching on the telly ,when your watching live its impossible .

And we still need a striker

Bemused at the explanations "defending" England for his incompetence, or at least what he thought he was checking, The guy holds a FIFA badge FFS, he's connected to the ref by live radio communication at all times, don't you think the ref and var officials conferred as to what was checked. Perhaps a recording of that conversation or at least a transcript would shed light on this matter. Forget the explanation (not apology) by PGMOL, I suspect they're only trying to cover the sorry asses. Because this happened to a "Big 6 club" this becomes "news" to the media. Remember the on field referee can over rule the linesperson or VAR official at any point during the game. This is what happened to us against Villa with the penalty (mind you I thought he was wrong in that decision). I hope PGMOL gives all involved a hefty suspension .

"Billy Gilbert really is God"