‘It’s poor appointing’: David Coote removed as VAR from Leicester vs Liverpool

The official was criticised for not retrospectively punishing Jordan Pickford for his challenge on Virgil van Dijk

David Coote has been removed as the VAR (Getty)

David Coote has been removed as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) from Leicester City vs Liverpool on Sunday.

The move prevents Coote from featuring in another Reds game following his controversial involvement in the most recent Merseyside derby.

Coote opted to not punish Jordan Pickford for his wild challenge on Virgil van Dijk, which has seen the Reds’ stalwart subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season.

And after being dropped from officiating for the following week, Coote returned to take charge of two Premier League games and one Championship match, but his involvement in another match featuring Jurgen Klopp’s side will now have to wait after the late switch.

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Coote will instead take charge on the pitch for Manchester United’s game against West Brom on Saturday, with former referee Mark Halsey describing the initial appointment as “poor”.

“It's poor appointing. There was a massive furore about the incident and we had two or three different reasons why it wasn't picked up; the offside nullified the challenge which was nonsense,” Halsey told Talk Sport.

“Why put him in that pressure cooker? There was no need to put him on that fixture list as VAR with Liverpool.”

Halsey is also upset at the general standard of refereeing this season.

"I hate to criticise fellow colleagues but over the last six to seven years the standard is dropping alarmingly, at all levels," he added.

"We have some great referees out there at the top, and I think Michael Oliver is by far our best referee; Martin Atkinson, Mike Dean, they are experienced guys and they are good referees.

David Coote has been removed as the VAR (Getty)

"Top coaches turn average players into good players, good players into excellent players - it is no different with referees.

"We have a failing with a number of top coaches who can take our referees forward."

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