Premier League make Newcastle United official decision after Liverpool complaint & Jurgen Klopp joke


The Premier League has confirmed the match officials for Brentford versus Newcastle United this afternoon (kick-off 4pm).
The race for European qualification goes down to the final day after the Magpies lost 3-2 at Manchester United on Wednesday night. It means Newcastle must beat Brentford and hope Chelsea lose at home to AFC Bournemouth to finish 6th.
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Hide AdEqualling Man Utd’s result at Brighton & Hove Albion will secure 7th, however that will only become an entry into Europe IF Manchester City beat the Red Devils to win the FA Cup next week. Make sense?


But regardless of what happens elsewhere, Eddie Howe’s men must do their job in West London, and overseeing the fixture is Simon Hooper.
Hooper has twice officiated a fixture involving the Magpies this campaign, including the 4-1 win at home to Chelsea in November where he sent off Reece James for a second bookable defence. His last was the 2-0 defeat at Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The 41-year-old found himself at the centre of a major VAR blunder earlier in the season when Liverpool wrongly had a goal disallowed for offside during their 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.
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Hide AdThe VAR team of Darren England and Daniel Cook thought Hooper’s on-field decision was onside. England signalled ‘check complete’ which resulted in the play restarting with a Spurs free-kick. They realised their mistake immediately but couldn’t change the decision under existing protocols.
Liverpool complained to the PGMOL before Jurgen Klopp suggested the fixture should be replayed. But it’s all water under the bridge, it seems after Klopp joked about having Hooper as referee for the Reds’ 3-3 draw at Aston Villa on Monday.
Had the German been booked at Villa Park he would have served a touchline ban for his final game as Liverpool boss today. When asked if he needed to be on his best behaviour, Klopp laughed: "Yes, and they gave me Simon Hooper, that's obviously the biggest challenge they can find! I am all right. I should be fine.” Hooper will be assisted by Adrian Holmes and Simon Long while Paul Tierney and Natalie Aspinall are on VAR duty. The fourth official is Gavin Ward.
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