Arsenal vs Liverpool referee announced as Premier League make decision amid 'bias' controversy
The Premier League have announced that Anthony Taylor will referee next weekend's clash between Arsenal and Liverpool, while Chris Kavanagh will only be on fourth official and VAR duty
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorAnthony Taylor will be the man in the middle when Arsenal host Liverpool in a huge Premier League clash on Sunday.
Liverpool currently sit top of the league with 21 points, while Arsenal are third with 17 points. And Taylor will be officiating the clash after a weekend of action that included major controversy over refereeing decisions.
Taylor himself was accused of making a "really poor decision" by Alan Shearer when he did not award Southampton a penalty in their 3-2 defeat to Leicester, while Chris Kavanagh was at the centre of major controversy over his decision to award Manchester City's controversial winner against Wolves.
City beat Wolves 2-1 after John Stones scored a late winner that was initially ruled out by Kavanagh, with Bernardo Silva deemed to be offside and interfering with Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
However, after being directed to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by VAR official Stuart Atwell, Kavanagh overturned his decision and awarded the goal. Wolves boss Gary O'Neil was not happy with the decision, pointing out that his side had a similar goal disallowed just six months ago.
He also suggested there may be a sub-conscious bias from officials towards the bigger clubs, stating: "There's no chance people are purposely against Wolves - if we ever get to that, then the game’s in a bad place.
"But is there something in the subconscious around decision-making? Without even knowing it, are you more likely to give it to Manchester City than Wolves? Referees are human, and Manchester City scoring a last-minute winner is a big thing, so maybe there’s something subconsciously that you're less likely to get those decisions.
"I can tell you categorically that referees are 100 per cent honest and they are doing the best they can. I just know that from a human point of view, I feel different playing Manchester City than I do when we play someone in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
"I'm sure the officials feel the same. They feel it. They're human. Now, I might be miles off. But if I had to upset someone in the street and there's a big guy and a little guy, I'm upsetting the little one."
And Kavanagh has been demoted for the upcoming round of fixtures, with the referee set to be the fourth official for Aston Villa's clash with Bournemouth on Saturday and the VAR for Crystal Palace's meeting with Tottenham on Sunday.
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