In the wake of a controversial VAR decision that cost Liverpool a crucial goal in their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, the match officials responsible have been removed from duty for the remainder of the Premier League weekend.

Referees’ body, the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), admitted a “significant human error” occurred when VAR failed to award Luis Diaz’s strike, flagged offside, during a VAR review with the game level at 0-0.

VAR official Darren England, originally scheduled to be the fourth official at Sunday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, and his assistant VAR, Dan Cook, who was to act as assistant referee for Monday’s west London derby between Fulham and Chelsea, have both been replaced for the remaining weekend fixtures.

The highly controversial encounter saw Spurs score in the 96th minute through Joel Matip’s own goal, securing the victory. Liverpool faced additional challenges as Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off on either side of half-time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressed his disbelief at the “unfair circumstances” and “crazy decisions” during the game.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb issued an apology to Liverpool for the error that led to the disallowed goal. The PGMOL stated, “This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention; however, the VAR failed to intervene.” The admission highlights the severity of the error that impacted the outcome of the match.