8 hours ago
22
Michael Salisbury, the video assistant referee (VAR) responsible for Fulham's incorrectly disallowed goal against Chelsea, will not officiate in the Premier League in any capacity this coming weekend.
In the last round of fixtures in the new campaign before September's international break, Chelsea hosted and beat local rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca's side prevailed 2-0, with goals from Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez settling the London derby.
However, the end result was not without controversy as Fulham's 18-year-old starlet Josh King was denied a first-ever top-flight goal that would have put Marco Silva's men ahead with 21 minutes played.
A coming-together of Cottagers striker Rodrigo Muniz and Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah saw Salisbury recommend to on-field referee Rob Jones that he review the incident using the pitchside monitor. This action was taken, and King's strike chalked off.
Providing an in-stadium announcement, Jones said: "After review, Fulham number nine commits a careless challenge, stands on the foot of the Chelsea defender, therefore we disallow the goal and we restart with a Chelsea free-kick."
However, Howard Webb - the head of PGMOL, the referees governing body - has since admitted this was an incorrect application of VAR.
On Match Officials Mic'd Up - a television programme that analyses VAR decisions over set intervals of the season - he explained: "It wasn't controversial, it was wrong. We've established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR.
"They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We've also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.
"In this situation, that guidance wasn't followed properly. There was a misjudgement by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah.
"The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened."
Salisbury had been removed from VAR duties for Arsenal's defeat to Liverpool the day following Chelsea's win over Fulham, now with the Premier League's announcement of the officials who will take charge of fixtures on match week four, his name is absent again.
The Blues, who sit second in the table after three matches, travel to Brentford when they return after the break.
Confirmed as referee for that match is Stuart Attwell. His assistants are Constantine Hatzidakis and Nick Hopton, whilst the fourth official is Lewis Smith.
On VAR duty is James Bell, then his assistant is Craig Taylor.
English (US) ·