Just West Ham’s luck—the controversial referee, Darren England, will return to the Premier League VAR hotseat for the first time in seven months this weekend. And yes, you’ve guessed it, the Hammers will be the test subjects when Fulham visits the London Stadium tomorrow.
England was shifted away from the spotlight after a significant error in the match between Tottenham and Liverpool last September.
Wade Smith will assist as the VAR for the London derby, while Stuart Attwell will head the on-field team with assistants Harry Lennard and James Mainwaring, and fourth official Michael Salisbury.
In England’s last stint as VAR on September 30, he wrongly disallowed a legitimate Luis Diaz goal for offside, which would have altered the outcome of the match that Spurs won 2-1.
Referee Darren England will be keen to avoid the limelight tomorrow
Footage later revealed that England had prematurely communicated a “check complete” decision to on-field referee Simon Hooper.
It was a farcical moment which concluded with England swearing under his breath upon realising that play had resumed without the correct decision being made.
It might have been mildly amusing at the time since it didn’t involve West Ham, but I’m not laughing now. Perhaps there will be nothing to worry about and England will be on his best behaviour. However, it’s a concern given the dubious decisions against West Ham recently.