John Brooks is appointed referee for Bournemouth vs Liverpool this weekend despite Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper calling for an official review after the draw with Everton… three weeks after his VAR error cost Brighton at Crystal Palace.
- Cooper was left furious with two big decisions in Forest’s draw with Everton
- But the PGMOL has put Brooks in charge of Bournemouth vs Liverpool
- It comes three weeks after he was retired following a major mistake as a VAR official.
John Brooks will referee for Bournemouth vs Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend despite Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper asking the PGMOL to review his performance after their controversial 2-2 draw with Everton.
Cooper was furious with two big decisions at the City Ground on Sunday, expressing his disbelief that Everton were not penalized for a foul just before the free kick that led to their second goal in the equalizer.
He also questioned why Brooks chose not to play an advantage when Brennan Johnson was clean on goal in the second half, leading referee chiefs to examine the moments in question.
According The TelegraphForest has been so outraged by his performance that they are even compiling a dossier with other arbitration errors that have gone against him throughout the season.
Although, despite the controversy of Sunday’s match, the PGMOL are not leaving Brooks behind and have instead put him in charge of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off between Bournemouth and Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium.
John Brooks will be the referee for Bournemouth vs Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has asked the PGMOL to review Brooks’ performance
Cooper was outraged by Brooks’ performance in a 2-2 home draw against Everton on Sunday.
Brooks was recently dropped for two games following a high-profile mistake he made as a VAR official in Crystal Palace’s clash with Brighton last month, costing the visitors a crucial goal at Selhurst Park.
The same weekend that officials were unable to rule out an illegitimate draw for Brentford against Arsenal, the PGMOL were forced to come out and admit their mistakes, chalking them up to “human error”.
A statement said: ‘PGMOL can confirm that its director of refereeing, Howard Webb, has contacted Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in VAR. process in their respective Premier League matches on Saturday.
“Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL.”
In addition to other alleged errors, Forest is also understood to be unhappy with various referee appointments throughout the campaign.
They were stunned when Huddersfield-based Andy Madley hosted their match at Fulham last month, which they lost 2-0.
Forest beat Huddersfield in last year’s Championship play-off final, benefiting from two controversial VAR decisions, and rumors suggest Madley was present as a fan.