Officials have been announced for Liverpool’s penultimate Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa.
The Reds host Aston Villa on Friday night in a fixture that suddenly carries huge weight in the race for fourth. Liverpool and Villa are both still fighting to make sure of Champions League qualification, while there remains the slightest risk of dropping out of the top five if results turn badly.
It has become another pressure point in a tense end to the campaign for Arne Slot. Here is who has been charged with officiating Liverpool’s penultimate Premier League game of the season.
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Hugo Ekitike or Virgil van Dijk? 👀
Chris Kavanagh to referee Liverpool vs Aston Villa with an unpopular assistant choice
Chris Kavanagh has been confirmed as the referee for Liverpool vs Aston Villa.
Dan Cook and Lee Betts will be the assistant referees, while Andy Madley has been named as the fourth official. Neil Davies will be on VAR duty, with Paul Howard acting as assistant VAR.
Kavanagh is a familiar figure to Liverpool supporters. He was the referee for Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Anfield in December 2023, when Martin Odegaard avoided punishment for a handball incident in the box after VAR chose not to intervene.
The bigger talking point for many fans, though, will be Cook’s involvement.
Cook was the assistant VAR during the infamous Luis Diaz incident at Tottenham in that same 2023/24 campaign. Diaz had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside, with PGMOL later acknowledging a significant human error.
Should VAR be scrapped in all competitions, or are the officials just using it incorrectly? ❌
Cook and Darren England were subsequently removed from their remaining appointments for that match round. That history means this appointment is unlikely to be welcomed warmly by everyone at Anfield.
Liverpool cannot afford for the officials to become the story, but they also cannot afford another damaging result.
Discontent is growing rapidly at Anfield. We will see if Slot can quiet some of the noise on Friday night.
- READ MORE: Unai Emery shares how he feels about having to play Liverpool ahead of the Europa League final
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