Referee Chris Kavanagh and Assistant Withdrawn Following Controversial FA Cup Match

omidbasir- Referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistant, Nick Greenhalgh, will not officiate any Premier League matches this weekend due to significant backlash regarding their performance during the fourth-round FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle United, which occurred on Saturday without the aid of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

VAR will not be implemented until the fifth round of the tournament. The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), which oversees referee selections, assesses officials based on several factors, including evaluations from an independent panel that reviews key match incidents to maintain accountability.

Among the numerous mistakes made during the match, Kavanagh and Greenhalgh failed to recognize a clear offside during Tammy Abraham’s goal for Aston Villa. Additionally, they overlooked a potential red card offense by Lucas Digne against Jacob Murphy, as well as a possible offside against Dan Burn on Newcastle’s equalizer. However, it was the decision regarding Digne’s handball that drew the most astonishment. The Villa full-back was positioned two yards within the penalty area when penalized, yet Kavanagh and Greenhalgh ruled that the infraction occurred a yard outside the area, resulting in a free-kick from which Sandro Tonali equalized for Newcastle in the 63rd minute.

Wayne Rooney, speaking on ‘Match of the Day,’ labeled it “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.” Despite this criticism, Kavanagh remains a respected official and was promoted to UEFA’s elite list of referees in December, joining the ranks of Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor.

The other assistant at Villa Park, Gary Beswick, has been assigned to the Nottingham Forest versus Liverpool match on Sunday.