Chris Kavanagh’s fate has been decided. (Image: Getty)
Referee Chris Kavanagh is set to return to Premier League duties following his recent FA Cup blunder, but his assistant at Villa Park, Nick Greenhalgh, has been demoted to Championship assignments. Kavanagh officiated Newcastle’s 3-1 victory over Aston Villa, but the match featured several high-profile mistakes.
Tammy Abraham scored a goal which was visibly offside, yet Greenhalgh failed to raise his flag and Lucas Digne escaped a red card for a heavy tackle on Jacob Murphy. The most glaring error occurred when Digne handled the ball inside the penalty area, directly in front of the assistant referee, but no spot-kick was awarded despite widespread protests.
Kavanagh ultimately gave a free-kick, confirming he recognised an infringement had occurred, but the Villa defender never left the penalty box, leaving the away side bewildered.
Both managers, Eddie Howe and Unai Emery, were scathing of the officiating, which took place without VAR, as is customary for that round of the FA Cup.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Kavanagh was withdrawn by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) for last week’s round of matches, alongside Greenhalgh, following their performances.
Kavanagh has worked his way back into favour and will officiate Manchester United’s fixture against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Greenhalgh, however, has not been so fortunate, and his demotion means he will be running the line in the Championship clash between Bristol City and Watford at Ashton Gate on Friday evening.
Lucas Digne is shown a yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh. (Image: Getty Images)
Greenhalgh will return to top-flight duties the following Tuesday, when he will serve as an assistant for Everton’s home clash with Burnley at Hill Dickinson Stadium. A wave of criticism was directed their way following the Villa Park debacle, with Alan Shearer aiming his frustration squarely at the assistant referee.
He said on the BBC: « I mean, there is perhaps a small excuse for the ref not to see this, but there is no excuse for the assistant, who is ten or 15 yards away. He had an absolute nightmare today, he cost them for the offside from the free-kick. »
Wayne Rooney went even further, branding the Digne penalty decision amongst the worst he had ever witnessed. « That decision is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in football because at no stage was Digne out of the penalty box, » he said.
« He is three or four yards inside. The linesman is just in front of it and you can clearly see how much he is in the penalty box. The referee looked like he blew and looked like he was listening to someone in his ear, so I’m assuming the linesman gave the decision, and it’s an absolute shocker. »
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Source link
