The Premier League has chosen to appoint Andy Madley as the referee for Arsenal on Wednesday night when they travel to Nottingham Forest.
Madley was at the centre of controversy at the weekend after officiating Manchester United’s draw with Everton at Goodison Park. With the scores level in stoppage time at the end of the game, the referee awarded the Toffees a penalty after he had adjudged that Harry Maguire had fouled Ashley Young in the box.
VAR Matt Donohue saw a different view and requested for Madley to go to the pitchside monitor. After a lengthy stoppage where several angles were checked, Madley chose to overturn his decision and award a drop ball in favour of United.
After the match, the process was widely criticised as replays showed that while Maguire may not have fouled Young, Matthijs de Ligt did. It was later suggested by former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher on Ref Watch that if Madley had seen the angle through the goal, he would not have overruled his initial decision.
Despite the decision, neither Madley nor Donohue have been dropped from the next round of Premier League fixtures this midweek. As mentioned, Madley will be refereeing the Gunners at the City Ground while Donohue will be the lead VAR for Brighton and Hove Albion’s clash with AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool’s home game with Newcastle United.
Arsenal will be hoping that they can redeem themselves at Forest having lost ground in the title race on Saturday following a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United. Couple this result with Liverpool’s victory at Manchester City and Mikel Arteta’s side are now 11 points adrift of the Premier League leaders.
