The official responsible for Saturday’s VAR blunder broke his own golden rule when he wrongly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool at Tottenham, a new book has revealed.
Darren England submitted to a Q&A for ‘The Football School Encyclopedia’ in which, asked ‘What is the hardest part of the job?’ he responds: “Making sure you do not make a mistake that impacts the outcome of the match.
“This is the worst thing for us.”
By a remarkable quirk of timing, the book, which is written by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton and aimed at younger readers, will be published on Thursday and offers insight into one of those responsible for what veteran former referee Keith Hackett described in the Telegraph as an episode of “staggering incompetence”.
England and his VAR assistant Dan Cook have been stood down from future appointments while Professional Game Match Officials Limited chiefs undertake a full review of the “significant human error” that it concedes was made during the game.
In the Q&A, which was conducted prior to the incident, England continues: “I try to prepare the same way for every match, which is to stay calm and relaxed.
“During the match I remain very focused and just take each decision I need to make, one at a time.
“I do not worry about past decisions in the game as it is all about the next decision.”
During Saturday’s game, with the score at 0-0, Diaz was flagged offside but replays showed he was actually onside.
England, the VAR, mistakenly believed the on-field decision had been to award the goal, leading him to tell referee Simon Hooper the check was complete.
Liverpool’s complaints prompted the publication of the audio between officials which revealed the first person to spot the mistake was the replay operator, who urged the team of officials to stop the game, but the VAR and assistant VAR repeatedly said they could not intervene because play had restarted.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp wants the match to be replayed, saying in a press conference on Wednesday: “Yes, it was an obvious mistake and I think there would have been solutions for it afterwards.
“If not, I can say immediately – and probably some people don’t want me to say it – not as the manager of Liverpool but, much more as a football person, I think the only outcome should be a replay. It probably will not happen.”
The Football School Encyclopedia is aimed at younger readers and boasts its appeal to “anyone with a thirst for knowledge, amazing true stories, terrific trivia, brain-busting quizzes, eye-popping colour, laugh-out-loud cartoons on every page – and everything you want to know about football!”
