Paul Tierney, responsible for an error during Liverpool’s victory over Nottingham Forest, won’t officiate any matches in the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures.
Nevertheless, he will serve as the video assistant referee (VAR) for Arsenal’s home match against Brentford on Saturday.
Tierney halted play due to a head injury to Reds defender Ibrahima Konate while Nottingham Forest possessed the ball during added time.
Upon resuming play, he awarded Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher the ball, and Darwin Nunez subsequently scored shortly after.
The goal secured a 1-0 victory for the visitors and occurred in the 99th minute, approximately one minute and fifty seconds after the restart incident.
According to the rules of the International Football Association Board, the game should have resumed with possession given to Forest from the location where they had the ball outside the box.
Although the decision didn’t directly lead to the goal, Forest did regain possession before Nunez ultimately scored the decisive goal.
After the final whistle, Forest players and staff surrounded Tierney, and coach Steven Reid was shown a red card.
Additionally, the owner of the City Ground club, Evangelos Marinakis, pursued the officials all the way to the referee’s office.
Forest referee analyst Mark Clattenburg, who officiated in the Premier League for 13 years between 2004 and 2017, criticised Tierney’s decision.
“When [the ball was] given to the keeper, with Liverpool scoring afterwards, you can see why [Forest] are aggrieved,” said Clattenburg.
“I haven’t spoken to the referee – I’ll leave that to the club. I went to go into the referee’s dressing room [after the game] but he wouldn’t allow it.”
Singh Gill family makes more history
Referee Sunny Singh Gill is poised to create history in the Premier League this weekend as he oversees Crystal Palace’s home fixture against Luton Town.
This milestone marks him as the first British South Asian to officiate a match in the competition.
For the Singh Gill family, it represents yet another significant moment. Sunny’s father, Jarnail, holds the distinction of being the first and only English Football League referee to wear a turban, having officiated 150 matches between 2004 and 2010.
Meanwhile, Sunny’s brother Bhupinder achieved a groundbreaking feat as the first Sikh-Punjabi to serve as a Premier League assistant referee, having been on the sidelines for the match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest in January 2023.