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The referee who became a role model after bouncing back from Diaz error
Darren England’s career has recovered from the VAR error that wrongly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham three years ago. He is now regarded as one of the Premier League’s most trusted officials, showing how referees can return to top-level work after a high-profile mistake.
England said the error, which happened when he mistakenly called “check complete” despite the VAR image showing Diaz was onside, was the lowest point of his career and brought intense scrutiny on him and his family. He later refereed Manchester City’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea and has been promoted to Champions League VAR for Galatasaray v Stuttgart. He described VAR work as mentally exhausting and said a major wrong decision can affect an official long after a match.
In short
- England has rebuilt his refereeing career after the Diaz VAR error.
- He is now trusted with major Premier League matches.
- He makes his Champions League VAR debut against Stuttgart.
Explained simply
VAR is the video assistant referee system, which lets officials review certain decisions during a football match. In 2023, Liverpool forward Luis Diaz had a goal wrongly ruled out against Tottenham after a communication error between the on-field referee and the VAR team.
Darren England was the VAR official involved in that error. Referees and VAR officials work under rules set by football’s governing bodies, and their decisions can come under close scrutiny because they may affect the outcome of a match.
The incident is part of a wider discussion about the pressures officials face and how they can continue working after a serious mistake. England’s later appointments at major matches show that officials may return to high-level roles after such an incident.
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