VAR will be in use on Sunday in Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool.
It will be the first time the system has been used at the City Ground. Steve Cooper’s Reds take on the Premier League giants on home turf this weekend, in what will be their final fixture before the international break. It is the first time the two sides have met in competitive action since April 1999.
And the Football Association have now confirmed the match officials for the big game. Included in the list are a Video Assistant Referee and an Assistant VAR.
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Craig Pawson will be the man in charge of the last-eight tie - having also been in the middle for Forest’s third round victory over Arsenal. Richard West and Daniel Robathan will be his assistants, while Kevin Friend will be fourth official.
The VAR for the televised match will be Andrew Madley. And the AVAR will be Simon Bennett, as the teams do battle to make the semi-finals at Wembley.
The VAR system is currently used in English football’s top-flight, but not in the leagues below. It has been used in the Premier League for the last three seasons.
The Reds got their first taste of VAR in January 2020, against Chelsea in the third round FA Cup. On that occasion, they were knocked out in a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The visitors had a penalty decision overturned in that match, as a result of VAR’s intervention, with the score still 1-0 at the time. Referee Peter Bankes had pointed to the spot after Alex Mighten - on his full debut - was brought down by Fikayo Tomori. But VAR ruled no penalty, with the 17-year-old judged to have been offside.
And after Ross Barkley had doubled the Blues’ lead in the second half, Ryan Yates had the ball in the back of the net. The midfielder was flagged offside, however, in another marginal call, this time supported by VAR.
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Forest are in the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 1996. They have already seen off Arsenal, holders Leicester City and Huddersfield Town on their way to setting up the meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
