Referee Kevin Friend has been stood down by the Premier League for next week’s round of fixtures.
Friend’s last Premier League game saw him eventually award Liverpool a penalty against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - a decision that was later described as 'ridiculous, wrong, pathetic, and stupid' by Alan Shearer.
The official initially gave a goal kick after Palace’s goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita, collided with Diogo Jota inside the box in the dying moments of the game.
But after being advised to look at the incident on the pitchside monitor by Craig Pawson, who was on VAR duty, Friend changed his decision to a penalty.
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Fabinho stepped up and coolly converted from 12-yards to seal a 3-1 win for the Reds that moved them to within nine points of leaders Manchester City.
A livid Patrick Vieira was unsparing in his criticism of Friend and VAR after the game - and claimed the match official had been 'naive' in awarding a penalty to the Reds.
He said: “I don’t even want to talk about it. That was a really poor decision from the referee.
"I looked at it from every angle and I still don’t understand how that can be a penalty.
“In meetings with the referees they explained to coaches that contact is part of the game, and if there is not obvious contact there is not going to be a penalty.
“Here, there was no way Jota – who I believe was really smart, and the referee quite naive – could get the ball back and try to score. That decision took our hope away of getting back into the game and getting a point.”
And now it has been confirmed that Friend will not be involved in any of the Premier League matches next week - and will instead take charge of Cardiff City vs Peterborough in the Championship on Wednesday.
While Pawson, the man on VAR for the game at Selhurst Park, will take charge of Burnley v Watford on Saturday, and is the fourth official for Newcastle United v Everton next Tuesday.
Liverpool return to action this weekend when they welcome Cardiff City to Anfield in the FA Cup before taking on Leicester City in the Premier League four days later.
