More than three years after one of the most notorious officiating errors in Premier League history, the man who made it has given his account.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Darren England addressed the September 2023 blunder at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he was the Video Assistant Referee for a match that ended 2-1 to Spurs, and failed to overturn the on-field offside decision that disallowed a legitimate Luis Diaz goal.
“Refereeing is about low points and high points. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions. That was a low point. The lowest point, of course,” England told BBC Sport.
Diaz’s goal was flagged offside by the assistant referee. In the VAR booth, England and his assistant Dan Cook saw Diaz was onside but, in a lapse of concentration, believed the on-field call had been goal rather than offside. England said “check complete”, play restarted, and the error could no longer be corrected. PGMOL admitted the “significant human error” the same evening.
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The weeks after the whistle
England was removed from Premier League duty immediately. He told BBC Sport it was almost three months before he refereed a top-flight match again, and six-and-a-half months before he returned to the VAR room in the Premier League. Reporting at the time confirmed England and Cook were initially stood down the week after the Tottenham match before being handed lower-profile roles.
The aftermath, he said, reached far beyond the pitch.
“The aftermath obviously was really difficult to deal with. It affected my family as well,” England told BBC Sport, describing journalists gathering outside his daughters’ school.
He said he worked extensively with a sports psychologist and leaned on support from family, friends and Pro Ref, the body that has since replaced the PGMOL branding.
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From Anfield fallout to Wembley, and Europe
England, now 40, has rebuilt the profile that collapsed that weekend. He refereed the 2026 FA Cup final at Wembley, where Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0, and recently took charge of his 100th Premier League match, marked, BBC Sport reports, at a referees’ training camp at Loughborough University, where he was presented with a plaque and a medal.
The audio from the Diaz incident, later released by the PGMOL, captured the moment he and Cook realised what had happened, with Cook heard saying there was nothing they could now do.
Tonight, England takes another step: BBC Sport reports he has been promoted to VAR in the Champions League for the first time, for Galatasaray’s home match against Stuttgart.
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