Referee Chris Kavanagh, who suffered badly in the recent FA Cup draw, has been recalled as Premier League referee and his assistant for the night has been demoted to Championship charge.
Chris Kavanagh was sent off in last week’s game following a poor performance in the FA Cup, but is expected to return.
Referee Chris Kavanagh is set to return to Premier League matches after his recent FA Cup outburst, but his assistant at Villa Park, Nick Greenhalgh, has been dropped from Championship duties.
Kavanagh took charge as Newcastle beat Aston Villa 3-1, a game that featured several high-profile mistakes. Tammy Abraham scored a goal clearly offside, but Greenhalgh did not raise his flag and Lucas Digne avoided a red card for a shocking challenge on Jacob Murphy.
The worst blunder was when Digne handled the ball in the box, right in front of the assistant referee, but despite numerous appeals, no penalty was awarded. Kavanagh eventually awarded a free-kick, proving he knew an attack was taking place, but the Villa defender never left the penalty area, leaving the visiting players stunned.
Managers Eddie Howe and Unai Emery both criticized the resulting performance, which meant the referees had to play without VAR, which is standard at this stage of the FA Cup.
Kavanagh, along with Greenhalgh, was suspended by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) for last week’s round of matches after a below-average performance.
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Kavanagh has returned to action and will take charge of Manchester United’s game against Crystal Palace on Sunday. But that’s not the case for Greenhalgh, whose relegation will see him feature in Friday night’s Championship clash between Bristol City and Watford at Ashton Gate.
Greenhalgh will return to Premier League action next Tuesday, assisting Everton in their home game against Burnley at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Alan Shearer came under fire for complaining about his assistant after the Villa Park accident.
He told the BBC: “There’s probably some excuse for the referee not seeing this, but there’s no excuse for the assistant who was 10 or 15 yards away. He had an absolute nightmare today. He cost them an offside with a free-kick.”
Wayne Rooney went further, claiming Digne’s penalty call was the worst he had ever seen. “That decision was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen in football, because at no stage did Digne leave the penalty area,” he said. “He’s three or four yards inside. The linesman is right in front of him and you can clearly see how far into the penalty box he is. The referee looked like he was blowing, like he was listening to someone in his ear. So I think the linesman made the call, which is really shocking.”
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