Referee Stuart Attwell WILL take charge of a game this weekend but VAR Michael Salisbury NOT after their blundering performance in Tottenham’s win over Brighton forced the PGMOL to apologize to the irate Seagulls
- PGMOL chief Howard Webb has had his say on the incident at Brighton’s game
- Kaoru Mitoma was ruled no foul was made in the penalty area against Tottenham
- In response, VAR official Michael Salisbury was removed from service this weekend
Referee Stuart Attwell survived the ax but VAR Michael Salisbury will not get a game this weekend after his roar against Brighton.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb had to apologize to Brighton for the third time this season after Attwell and Salisbury failed to award a penalty for a foul on Kaoru Mitoma by Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
It came at a crucial point of the game at 1-1, but Tottenham went on to win 2-1, leaving Brighton furious with match officials as they feel it hurts their unlikely pursuit of Champions League football.
Attwell gave nothing in real time, while Salisbury did not recommend an assessment on the monitor to the pitch, despite studying the clear foul on Mitoma.
Reports had suggested they would both be dropped as a result. However, Attwell will act as VAR for Wolves versus Brentford before acting as fourth official at West Ham against Arsenal. Salisbury, meanwhile, will be out this weekend.
Stuart Attwell (L) has survived a penalty for his costly mistake in Brighton’s weekend defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, while Michael Salisbury (R) has been taken off
Seagulls winger Kaoru Mitoma was brought down in the penalty area by the Spurs’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but the officials refused to award a penalty for the foul
The Japan international was stunned by the decision not to award a penalty to his team
Webb has dropped officials this season for making high-profile mistakes, including in Brighton games.
VAR John Brooks was hooked for Liverpool against Everton and Arsenal against Manchester City earlier this season for wrongly ruling out a Pervis Estupinan goal for Brighton at Crystal Palace.
Brooks placed the offside line to the wrong player in a match that ended 1–1.
Webb has tried to bring a sense of transparency to the PGMOL after taking over Mike Riley.
The new head of Premier League refereeing has immediately introduced a process whereby he speaks with managers to acknowledge when mistakes have been made in their matches.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb has been forced to drop officials after poor on-duty decisions