Officiating a Merseyside derby is famously quite a tough task but, despite already selecting a team of officials to oversee the game at Anfield, there has been a change made to those who are overseeing the game and in the eleventh hour.
As reported by Simon Stone from BBC Sport: ‘PGMOL confirm John Brooks has been replaced as VAR for both Liverpool v Everton tonight and Arsenal v Manchester City on Wednesday evening. Brooks was VAR for Palace v Brighton on Sat when wrong offside line was drawn’.
This may well then be a welcome change from both sides of Stanley Park as we certainly don’t want to see the match decided by an incorrect call that’s made in Stockley Park, although we probably would enjoy it if it worked in our favour.
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John Brooks was the victim of human error but there will be few who would feel too sorry for him, especially if a wrong call meant that Everton were handed a positive result against the Reds and so the accountability here should be applauded.
Despite the introduction of VAR in 2019, there has certainly not been much of a reduction in controversy surrounding refereeing decisions and so some may point to whether it is actually needed in the game at all.
However, the only way improvement will come is by ensuring the best people possible are put in charge and this announcement should mean that the Merseyside derby will be overseen by a higher level of refereeing officials than it could have otherwise been.
You can view the refereeing update for the Merseyside derby via @sistoney67 on Twitter:
PGMOL confirm John Brooks has been replaced as VAR for both Liverpool v Everton tonight and Arsenal v Manchester City on Wednesday evening. Brooks was VAR for Palace v Brighton on Sat when wrong offside line was drawn.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) February 13, 2023
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