Ex-Premier League referee: Official may be ‘dismissed’ after ‘100% wrong’ Philippe Coutinho-Aston Villa controversy
The assistant referee who flagged for offside before Philippe Coutinho scored for Aston Villa in their 1-1 draw with Man City should be “relieved of his duties for at least a week”.
That is the view of former Premier League referee and ex-head of the PGMOL Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the “100 per cent wrong” decision.
Coutinho thought he had put Villa 2-1 up only for the assistant referee to incorrectly flag him as offside.
Assistant referees are told not to raise their flags until the end of the move to allow VAR to make the ultimate call.
“It is a big decision,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Referees are very clearly informed that a delayed flag, until the outcome, must be the mode of operation. It’s clear.
“Here is a player that has instantly been flagged offside by the assistant referee. The assistant is wrong.
“Then we look at the referee’s instant reaction of blowing the whistle which is poor practice on his part. He is supposed to await the outcome.
“Here is a breakdown of working in the criteria and a breakdown in communication.
“The ball is in the back of the net but it may not have been [without the whistle] because it might have impacted the players to stop playing.
“When you actually look at the offside decision, it’s 100 per cent wrong.
“The words I used to use are that the assistant referee needs to be relieved of his duties for at least a week in order to receive the appropriate operational advice.
“It’s a phrase I would use often because a week wouldn’t go by where someone didn’t need operational advice.”
In other news, Aston Villa could appoint Mauricio Pochettino after a source’s sack reveal.