Liverpool will be enraged after Premier League announcement ahead of West Ham clash
West Ham are set to take on an out-of-form Liverpool side on Sunday, with Darren England to take charge of the fixture.
There is a lot on the line for both sides at the London Stadium as they look to achieve their season objectives.
Arne Slot is under increasing pressure at Liverpool after the Reds suffered another humiliating defeat on the weekend.
In comparison, West Ham are still in relegation trouble after they bottled a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth on Saturday.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will be the happier after the Premier League confirmed on 24 November that Darren England will be the referee on Sunday.
Darren England disallowed the infamous Luis Diaz goal back in 2023
While VAR has made some dreadful mistakes over the years, perhaps the worst of all was Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal against Tottenham back in 2023.
The winger found the net to put Liverpool 1-0 up in the fixture, with the linesman then putting his flag up for offside.
However, despite replays showing he was in fact on, England went on to confirm the on-field decision in what was classed as a ‘significant human error’.
- England and the VAR team intially thought that the on-field decision was to allow Diaz’s goal
- As a result, they told the on-field referee that the check was “complete”
- Therefore, the goal was confirrmed as offside before England and the VAR team realised their mistake
As a result, it is clear that England is not well-loved around the red side of Merseyside, with the decision going down as one of the worst in history.
Therefore, with Slot’s job under heavy pressure, they will be furious to see that the referee is in charge of such an important fixture.
Another poor decision against Liverpool could end up costing the Dutchman his job, as Nuno looks to cause an upset.
- Read more: Gary Lineker shares five-word Nuno Espirito Santo verdict after West Ham draw vs Bournemouth
England’s record against West Ham
England’s record against West Ham is not much to boast about.
According to Transfermarkt on 24 November, the referee has overseen nine Hammers matches, six of which have ended in defeat for the East London club.
West Ham have had controversies with England before, with the referee taking six minutes on VAR to allow Nikola Milenkovic’s goal for Nottingham Forest last season.
While this was down to communication difficulties, it was still slammed as an unacceptable delay.
Hopefully, given Liverpool’s past misfortunes as well, West Ham will have a slight advantage on Sunday.
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