With refereeing still at the forefront of debate after Saturday’s trip to Tottenham, the Reds’ next meeting in the Premier League has been confirmed.
Darren England and Dan Cook, the VAR officials responsible for Luis Diaz’s goal at the weekend, have been ruled out of the upcoming Premier League fixture.
Referee Simon Hooper has been selected and will act as VAR for Everton v Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool travel to Brighton on Sunday at 14:00 and the match will be managed by Anthony Taylor, who himself has clashed with Jürgen Klopp before. Taylor was sacked by the Reds boss after a 1-0 win against Man City in October 2022 for shouting at linesman Gary Beswick, who is also at the Amex on Sunday.
Adam Nunn is the second deputy judge who works in the opposite dock against Beswick.
The full list of officials for this weekend’s fixture is not a good number for Klopp, with Craig Pawson on his fourth official duty.
The manager blamed Pawson for two decisions which cost his side the chance to break the club’s all-time unbeaten record against West Ham at the London Stadium in November 2021 after a 3-2 defeat.
All eyes are on the VAR room, where Chris Kavanagh is assisted by Matthew Wilkes at Stockley Park. Kavanagh’s decision to ignore a clear handball in Man City’s win over Everton in March 2022 saw the Reds miss out on the Premier League title by a point in an unprecedented four-point chase.
Brighton v Liverpool referees
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Craig Pawson
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
